Mayor: Federal agent who shot Portland protester with crowd control weapon 'escalated' tensions

https://twitter.com/zerosum24/status/1282275808413966337

PORTLAND, Oregon — A Portland protester was badly hurt  Saturday night after being shot in the head with a crowd-control weapon, video shows. The weapon was fired by a federal agent stationed outside the Mark O. Hatfield U. S. Courthouse.

A spokesperson at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital said Sunday evening the man, 26-year-old Donavan LaBella, was in serious condition.

Video on social media from Tomas Morales IV shows LaBella was standing across the street from the federal courthouse when the incident happened. He had his arms raised above his head and was holding what looks like a large black speaker.

The video shows a federal officer throwing a canister that lands near the man. He first tries to kick it away, then picks up the canister and tosses it back toward  the courthouse.

This appears to be the moment that #Portland protester was struck in the head and suffered a gruesome injury. pic.twitter.com/Na1h5BUaAO— Simulation Warlord?? (@zerosum24) July 12, 2020

He then raises the speaker above his head again, with both hands. He is wounded shortly afterward. You can hear the sound of the shot on video, and LaBella immediately falls to the ground.

Other protesters surround the man and he is carried away from the area, another video shows. He was bleeding heavily from the head, and a significant amount of blood could be seen on the sidewalk after he was carried away.

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security deployed federal officers in tactical gear from around the country to protect federal property and monuments in Portland and several other cities.

Besides the injury to LaBella, federal officers used CS gas on protesters "at times" Saturday night, according to a Portland Police Bureau news release. Federal officers made arrests, Portland Police said, and they made one arrest themselves.

On Friday, President Trump talked about deploying federal agents to Portland. At an event he told Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf about the protests in Portland and claimed that local police couldn't manage the protests themselves.

"It was out of control, the locals couldn't handle it, and you people are handling it very nicely," said President Trump.

Mayor Ted Wheeler, in a statement, said the U.S. Marshals Service will be conducting a full investigation of the incident that led to LaBella's injury.

He also called on federal officers to follow directives given to Portland Police regarding the use of CS gas and other crowd control munitions.

Here is the full text of his statement:

A person was seriously injured in Portland last night. This should not have happened. I spoke with U.S. Attorney Bill Williams about the injuries and learned that the U.S. Marshals Service will be conducting a full investigation. I am calling on the federal government to be thorough and transparent with their findings. I’m concerned that the actions of federal officers last night escalated, rather than de-escalated, already heightened tensions in our city.... (Read more)

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