Three people were arrested Thursday while protesting Oregon Health & Science University's use of inmate labor, activists and police said.

Jacob A. Bureros, Sherry Motamedi and Zoe R. McLain were arrested on various charges, the Portland Police Bureau said. The agency said officers deployed pepper spray during their encounter with protesters; activists criticized officers' tactics as police brutality.

Police said protesters blocked traffic and access to two OHSU buildings Thursday night on the South Waterfront. Both buildings were put in lockout.

Protesters marched on South Waterfront roads, police said, and officers used loudspeakers to order them onto sidewalks. Officers spotted Bureros, who was believed to be a suspect in a June 3 assault investigation, and took him into custody, police said.

Police said early information Thursday night suggests a protester threw a water bottle that hit an officer, and officers used pepper spray and arrested two more protesters.

Activists said they condemn the police actions.

"Not only did police specifically target suspected organizers in a desperate attempt to intimidate, they also erratically unleashed pepper spray on a crowd including disabled folks and children," they said in a news release.

A police spokesman said the Bureau reviews all uses of force and that it will review the officers' actions at the protest.

In an open letter to OHSU's president, activists said the university uses prison workers to do most of its laundry, the Oregon Corrections Enterprises workers are exposed to biohazards they're under-equipped to handle, and they're paid very little.

"We're calling on OHSU to end its contracts with OEC until there's an end to prison slavery. We'd like a response by September 20th, and we'll go from there to determine how to best proceed with your dirty laundry," the letter says.

Oregon Corrections Enterprises provides laundry services to OHSU, which uses OCE workers to clean linens and scrubs in its hospital and clinics, an OHSU spokesman said. He said worker pay and conditions are determined by Oregon Corrections Enterprises.

The three arrested will be arraigned Friday, police said. No one was reported injured.

Police said in a news release late Thursday the investigation was ongoing. They urge anyone who has information to call 503-823-3333.

— Jim Ryan