Portland police on Thursday defended their hands-off approach to a demonstration where protesters temporarily blocked traffic and were later part of an encounter with a motorist that drew national headlines.

More than 100 people gathered downtown Saturday to protest the death of Patrick Kimmons, 27, who was shot and killed by police Sept. 30 in a parking lot near Southwest Fourth Avenue and Harvey Milk Street.

Authorities say the father of three had just been involved in a fight and a shooting that left two other men wounded when a police officer and sergeant responding to the scene encountered Kimmons armed with a gun.

The cops fired between 10 and 12 shots, striking Kimmons in his legs and torso, sources told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

During a portion of Saturday's demonstration, which officers monitored from a distance, a group of marchers blocked Southwest Fourth and directed traffic away from the area.

Some motorists exchanged words with those standing in the streets, video shows. A couple of protesters can be heard cursing at one driver.

In an emailed statement, the Portland Police Bureau said it had tried to work with protest organizers to establish a route for the march but were unsuccessful.

"This would have helped facilitate a safe route for demonstrators, while also ensuring road users had alternative routes," the statement said.

Later, at Southwest Fourth and Salmon Street, a man behind the wheel of a silver Lexus slowly pushed through a small crowd of demonstrators in a crosswalk while they had the right of way, a second video shows.

A few protesters began to hit the man's car and one of them got in front of the Lexus. The driver then sped off down the block before stopping and getting out to survey potential damage.

The man hopped back into his car and drove off as some of the demonstrators caught up to him. A few protesters began to pound on the man's vehicle. There were no reported injuries.

The video of that incident went viral, racking up more than 3 million views on Twitter before its author removed it this week. A handful of conservative news outlets including Fox News and The Daily Caller seized on the episode.

"Antifa Takes Over Portland, Harasses Old Man For Disobeying," proclaimed the right-wing site Breitbart. That post alone generated 20,000 comments.

Left-leaning activists, meanwhile, took to social media in an attempt to identify the driver, who some claimed tried to run over the protesters .

"Find him. Ruin him," the group Portland's Resistance tweeted. "Make racists afraid again."

The driver, a retired 74-year-old who lives in Southwest Portland, told police this week his car sustained more than $3,000 in damages.

He did not respond to multiple calls from The Oregonian/OregonLive seeking comment.

Police "had to make the careful decision to balance the need to clear the street to allow for the flow of traffic versus the risk of officers having to potentially use force and enflame an already tenuous situation," the bureau's statement said.

"We recognize the strong community concern and interest regarding how police officers respond to crowd control situations," Chief Danielle Outlaw said in the statement.

"There is no cookie-cutter response to these events."

An earlier version of this story reported that the Lexus driver was on Southwest Fourth Avenue and Madison Street. He was on Southwest Fourth Avenue and Salmon Street. The story has been updated to reflect that change.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 || @shanedkavanaugh