Vancouver, Washington erupts after cops fatally shoot black man
A police killing of an armed black man in Washington state touched off a violent showdown between Black Lives Matter and Antifa followers that raged until the early hours of Saturday.
Dozens from both movements descended on Vancouver from nearby Portland, Oregon, roughly 15 miles away, to protest the death of Kevin Peterson Jr., a 21-year-old black man who sheriff’s deputies fatally shot Thursday night after he fired on them, a journalist on the scene reported.
The demonstrators infiltrated a crowd that gathered Friday evening to honor Peterson, who played football in high school and just had a new daughter.
Shortly before the candlelight vigil, hundreds chanted “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “Black Lives Matter!” the Columbian reported. Signs on the fence of a bank parking lot nearby read “Scream His Name” and “Stop the Lynching.”
Down the street stood counterprotesters of all kinds — some carrying weapons, others waving American flags and pro-Trump flags. Then, tempers flared. The sides went after each other.
They pulled each other to the pavement, throwing jabs and kicking. They moved to smash the windows of businesses, burned American flags, fired guns into the air and cursed the police, journalist Andy Ngo tweeted.
“Death to your f–king empire,” shouted a man burning a flag.
In the crowd was Jarrett Byrd, a Black man, who came to show solidarity with Black Lives Matter.
“There’s a lawlessness in our law enforcement,” Byrd told the Columbian.
Peterson’s family remembered their loved one on social media and questioned why the Clark County Sheriff’s Office took so long to make the shooting public, the Seattle Times reported.
“Kevin did everything for me … doesn’t matter what it was or what time he always came when i asked. I regret every argument please come back,” his girlfriend, Olivia Selto, wrote on Twitter. “I miss him so much already.”
Narcotics officers, according to Sheriff Chuck Atkins, believed Peterson was selling illegal drugs and met him in a motel parking lot. A chase followed. Peterson showed a handgun. The officers backed off and Peterson ran again.
A short time later, three deputies fired at Peterson. They found a handgun at the scene. Atkins expressed condolences to Peterson’s family and urged the community not to rush to judgment.
“There is always the potential for misinformation, doubt and confusion — and there may be those who wish to sow seeds of doubt,” he said in a statement.
The investigation has been turned over to the Southwest Washington Independent Investigation Team, and the Camas Police Department is taking the lead, Atkins said.
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