Riots Erupt In Portland As Mayor Asks For $2 Million To Help Police Stop Gun Violence

Another Night Of Unrest In Oregon As Violence Erupted In Downtown Portland Prompting Federal Officers To Be Deployed To Stop The Riots.

Officers Used Tear Gas And Smoke Bombs To Break Up The Rioters Who Were Setting Fires And Smashing Windows In The Area Of A U.S. Courthouse.

The Officers Were Able To Break The Crowd Up But They Came Back Later In The Night To Cause More Damage And Destruction.

The Group Of Rioters Started Out Protesting The Expansion Of An Oil Pipeline That Runs Between Superior, Wisconsin And The Canadian Province Of Alberta.

Some Protesters Said They Were There To Mark The Start Of The Derek Chauvin Trial In Minnesota.

Chauvin Is The Former Minneapolis Police Officer Who Is Facing Murder Charges In Connection With The Death Of George Floyd.

Portland Has Seen Almost Daily And Nightly Protests For Much Of The Past Year.

Meanwhile The Mayor Of Portland Is Requesting $2 Million In One-Time Funding For Police To Help Stop The Rampant Gun Violence In The City.

Mayor Ted Wheeler Made The Request After City Leaders Voted Back In June To Cut Nearly $16 Million Dollars From The Police Budget.

That Cut In Funding Included The Elimination Of A Gun Violence Reduction Unit.

Oregon's Largest City Has Seen A Spike In Violence. So Far This Year There Have Been 20 Homicides Which Is Up From 1 Homicide Recorded In The Same Time Period Last Year.

A Group Of Community Members And Leaders Sent A Letter To The City Council With A List Of Actions They Believe Will Slow Gun Violence Including Increasing Gun Crime Investigations And Re-Establishing A Police Patrol Team To Engage In Violence Prevention And Response.

As Of March 8 There Have Been 278 Shootings In The Portland Region, 58 People Have Been Injured From Those Shootings.