May Day marchers try to shut down Pioneer Place mall.
For the past couple of hours, a growing crowd of May Day marchers has led Portland's bike cops and horse cops on an energetic (and unpermitted, as the cops like to point out) tour of downtown—a trip you should be following over at our Twitter feed, if you haven't been already.

There've been arrests—up to a dozen, officially, Portland police are reporting; we think there will likely be much more accounted for when the dust clears. There's been a smoke bomb. People plucked off sidewalks while riding their bicycles. Repeated encounters with riot cops. A sighting of mayoral candidate Jefferson Smith. The usual.

As to where have the marchers gone? A better question is where haven't they gone. The march started beneath the Burnside Bridge and headed toward Naito and Pine (where there was an arrest). It headed south on Fifth (where there were arrests). The crowd hit Pioneer Square (with arrests on the way). Then it meandered toward the South Park Blocks, through Chapman Square, outside Central Precinct, into Pioneer Place Mall and, well, onward and onward.

Except, as our Nathan Gilles just reported a few minutes ago, the crowd has voted to rest for a while at Pioneer Square before deciding whether to march again. The other march planned for today, hosted by all the unions, starts in about an hour.

Hit the jump to see what the cops have had to say about all this so far. And click over to the Portland Occupier live blog to keep up on all the days events and see some excellent pictures of how folks were treated.

An unpermitted march left Waterfront Park at approximately 12:00 p.m. and almost immediately some demonstrators began walking into the streets and into traffic. Some members of the march were very confrontational with police officers and there were several arrests at Southwest 1st Avenue and Pine Street and Southwest 4th Avenue and Stark Street.

The march continued onto Southwest Broadway and additional arrests were made at Broadway and Salmon Street. At this point, the march continues to move around the Downtown core and many members of the march have been very confrontational.

At this point an estimated 12 arrests have been made related to charges of Interfering with a Police Officer and Disorderly Conduct.

Officers are continuing to monitor the unpermitted march and will take enforcement action as necessary.

Earlier Tuesday Morning, two banks reported vandalism to police. The Wells Fargo branch located at 3782 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard reported vandalism to an ATM and the US Bank branch located at 321 Southwest 6th Avenue reported glass doors broken. Additional vandalism reports are coming in at this time.

There is a permitted event scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. in the South Park Blocks. Organizers have described the event as a family-friendly permitted rally and march to celebrate International Workers Day. People will gather in the South Park blocks:

* 2:00 pm Tabling begins for community groups
* 3:30 pm Permitted Rally begins
* 4:30 pm Permitted March begins
* 6:30 pm March returns to South Park Blocks

Available information suggests that there will be other non-affiliated groups that may engage in direct action both before and after the permitted May Day event. The Portland Police Bureau has expressed concerns to organizers about unaffiliated groups attempting to disrupt the permitted event and engaging in illegal behavior.

As sworn public safety officials, the men and women of the Police Bureau are charged with upholding the law and protecting the safety and rights of all Portlanders. Those who willingly commit illegal acts must be aware of the consequences of those actions, which include requests to cease illegal activity, citations, or arrests.

The permitted event provides for a coordinated set of guidelines. These guidelines will spell out the route and authorizes event participants to be in the street lawfully, and are designed to ensure the safe flow of all traffic in the downtown core. Experience has show that obtaining a permit makes the event more collaborative which increases the overall success and enjoyment of the event.

The Portland Police Bureau is committed to allowing participants to express their free speech rights. Our overall objective is to take all appropriate action to help make this event happen in a way that is safe for participants and the general public alike.

The Police Bureau is asking for the community's patience and understanding as there may be disruptions to vehicle, pedestrian and TriMet traffic in the downtown core during the duration of the events.

The Portland Police Bureau will continue to provide updates as they are available.