Police shoot Portland protester in head with impact weapon, causing severe injuries

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Screenshot from video taken of federal officers shooting a protester using impact munitions.

Videos posted to social media appear to show a police officer shooting a protester in the head with an impact munition outside of the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse in downtown Portland on Saturday. The man suffered skull fractures and required surgery, his mother said.

The incident places new scrutiny on federal involvement in policing protests in downtown Portland, where courts have restricted local police — but not federal agents — from using crowd control munitions against nonviolent protesters.

Some local, state and federal elected officials placed blame for the incident with President Donald Trump, who on Friday during a military briefing in Florida spoke approvingly of more aggressive enforcement by federal Homeland Security personnel.

One video shows the protester holding a speaker while standing across the street from the courthouse between two parked cars. Police, who appear to be federal officers, throw a canister that lands at his feet, which he lightly tosses away from him and toward the officers. It lands partway across the street.

A few seconds later, a firing sound can be heard, and the man collapses to the ground, dropping the speaker. The video shows no sign of aggressive provocation on the part of the protester, who appeared to be standing alone.

The protester in the video is 26-year-old Donavan La Bella, as OPB News first reported. Friends told OPB that La Bella was a regular and nonviolent presence at protests.

WARNING: This video contains graphic violence and language that some might find offensive.

Another video, which contains graphic imagery and language, was tweeted by independent journalist Garrison Davis shortly before 10 p.m. that reportedly shows the aftermath.

The protester is shown bleeding on the sidewalk and appears to be unconscious after being hit with “what appears to be an impact munition” in the face, Davis narrated. Several protesters rush to check on him and carry him away, revealing the splatters of blood on the sidewalk. The officers are standing across the street and are not reacting.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Federal Protective Service charged with security for federal property, and the Portland Police Bureau did not immediately respond to requests to comment.

His mother said his face and skull were fractured and that he finished facial reconstructive surgery early Sunday morning.

“He still has a tube in his skull to drain the blood,” Desiree La Bella, Donavan’s mother, told The Oregonian/OregonLive. She added that he needs neurological checks every hour and is showing signs of confusion. He also has had an MRI for vision problems in his left eye.

Several Oregon elected officials reacted with alarm at the violent incident and placed the blame with Trump, whose Department of Homeland Security dispatched more officers to Portland in response to the nightly downtown protests.

The U.S. Marshals Service will conduct a full investigation, Mayor Ted Wheeler said Sunday night.

He also called on the federal government to follow the same crowd-control rules and follow the same restrictions on using CS gas and sonic devices that have been placed on the Portland Police Bureau.

Gov. Kate Brown said Trump’s deployment of federal officers to Portland “only serves to escalate tensions” and will continue to bring “unnecessary violence and confrontation.”

“The events of last night at the federal courthouse were the tragic and avoidable result of President Donald Trump, for weeks, continuing to push for force and violence in response to protests,” Brown said. “The cycle of violence must end.”

Portland Commissioner Chloe Eudaly said that the protester did not threaten anyone’s safety, describing the shooting as “reckless and inexcusable behavior.”

“It’s unfortunate that Trump cares more about protecting monuments and buildings than he does people’s lives and constitutional rights,” Eudaly said in a statement. “We didn’t invite or ask for this overblown intervention by the federal government.”

Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said in a statement Sunday that she condemns the federal troops’ presence and demanded they withdraw. She also urged Portland police to stop responding violently to protests before federal troops get involved.

“This reckless and aggressive behavior has now put someone in the hospital,” she writes. “This protester is still fighting for their life and I want to be clear: This should never have happened. If this continues a life will be taken and it won’t matter whether a federal officer or Portland Police officer did it — it won’t bring that person back.”

Commissioner Amanda Fritz released a statement Sunday evening calling criticizing Trump.

“The person in charge of our country and of federal law enforcement has shown utter contempt for human life for the three and a half long years he’s been in office,” she wrote. “We should not be surprised that he is fueling upheaval in Portland by sending in federal officers knowing that the City Council has no authority to control or expel them.”

Fritz condemned the actions of the officer who shot La Belle and called for Portlanders to unite against hate.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said that the shooting was a consequence of Trump dispatching federal law enforcement into U.S. cities “like an occupying army.”

Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley said Sunday that Trump’s deployment of federal agents to Portland “raises serious concerns.”

The Trump administration deployed personnel from a half-dozen agencies to Portland, where they primarily guard the federal courthouse and a nearby federal office building. Those officers have been quick to make arrests and deploy crowd-control weapons, and their response has frequently spilled into nearby streets and parks.

Speaking with acting Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf on Friday, Trump said local police “couldn’t handle” the protests.

“You people are handling it very nicely,” he told Wolf.

Impact munitions, like the foam-tipped and plastic projectiles used by Portland police, are generally intended to be fired at arms and legs to prevent serious injury. Portland Police directives restrict officers from using impact munitions to target a person’s head, neck or throat “unless deadly force is authorized.” Additionally, police can’t use impact munitions to control crowds without supervisor permission or the threat of death or serious injury.

And under a temporary court order, Portland police may not use less-lethal impact weapons unless officers believe lives or safety are at risk. They’re specifically barred from using the munitions against people engaged in passive resistance.

But the order only applies to city police, and not federal officials. Federal police also have used tear gas to disperse crowds on several occasions in recent days.

And federal officers operate under their own set of directives.

Saturday night protests in Portland became tense after 9 p.m., about an hour before the incident shown in the video. Officers also used crowd control munitions such as tear gas to scatter protestors. Saturday marked the 45th day of protests in Portland following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in late May.

Federal officers also chased a demonstrator who was drawing on the sidewalk with chalk outside the federal courthouse.

— Ryan Nguyen; rnguyen@oregonian.com; @ryanjjnguyen

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