PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A teenage boy who allegedly pepper-sprayed a person during Portland’s Pride Parade on Sunday was arrested later in the day, police said.
Reports of the incident at N Broadway near W Burnside Street came in around 12:15 p.m., according to Portland Police Bureau. Officers quickly arrived on the scene and found a victim who needed treatment for exposure to pepper spray.
Witnesses said a teen had approached a group of people who were exercising their First Amendment rights during the parade and pepper-sprayed one of them.
Officers verified the suspect’s identity with help from witnesses and tried to make contact with him. But the teen reportedly “utilized the crowd” during the Pride Parade and was able to escape police. He then fled the area.
“Officers believed arresting the suspect at that moment would impact the Pride Parade,” police spokesperson Sgt. Chris Burley said in a press release.
Then, around 3 p.m., a young man reportedly approached Portland Police Bureau’s recruitment booth at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. He started tearing apart stickers and other items, and threw them onto the ground, according to police.
An officer at the booth told him to stop littering, but he refused to.
Other officers were called in and they immediately recognized the young man as the suspect involved in the pepper-spraying incident earlier in the day, police said.
As police tried taking him into custody, his friend interfered. Both young men reportedly refused to listen to orders from police, and they were both arrested.
The teen accused of pepper-spraying a person earlier in the day was booked into the Donald E. Long Detention Home on charges of fourth-degree assault, unlawful use of pepper spray, second-degree disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
The other juvenile was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with a peace officer. He was later released to his guardian, according to police.
Anyone who may have witnessed or recorded either incident is asked to call 503.823.3333 and reference case number 42-17-680760.
Filed under: Crime, Local News, Multnomah County, Oregon, Portland
