OR Teacher On Leave After 'Unauthorized' Walkout Against Shooting

PORTLAND, OR -- The Portland community is rallying around a teacher after he was placed on leave for leading a school walkout in protest of police shooting that killed a black teenager. In a petition placed on Change.org, organizers said Ockley Green Middle School teacher Chris Riser was placed on administrative leave March 23 after a walkout on Feb. 9, the one year anniversary of the shooting.

District officials confirmed Riser was placed on leave to KGW8.

KGW8 reported the teacher "led at least 300 students in an unauthorized, two-hour, three-mile roundtrip walk off campus."

"In the letter to parents, Ockley Green Principal Paula McCullough and Senior Director Karl Logan wrote the walkout happened 'despite instructions by school administrators to return students to their respective classrooms,'" KGW8 reported.

The Change.org petition had more than 1,700 signatues as of Monday morning, demanding that Riser be allowed to return to work.

"Chris Riser is an important presence to the students at Ockley Green Middle School. He is a strong voice for social justice, diversity and equality," the petition said. "At a critical time when gun violence is rampant, Chris Riser is teaching the kids that their greatest weapon is their voice. By placing him on administrative leave, it is teaching our children that speaking up for what they believe in is wrong. Some of the best education we can learn is not in the classroom but from social interactions."

Organizers described Riser as a "young, energetic, engaging teacher."

Quanice Hayes was shot on Feb. 9, 2017 after Portland Officer Andrew Hearst fired three shots at the boy. Hearst said he believed the boy was armed.

A Multnomah Grand Jury later cleared Hearst of any wrongdoing.

--Photo via Shutterstock

Also See:

Quanice Hayes: Grand Jury Clears Portland Officer in Shooting

Downtown Portland Protests Follow Memorial Service for Teen