 Chief Mike Reese and Mayor Sam Adams |
With one young African American man dead and one police officer recovering from gunshot wounds to both legs, police released limited details today about Wednesday night's shooting near the Lloyd Center.
Police say the incident involved officers from the Hotspot Enforcement Action Team. On Thursday morning, his second day on the job, Portland Police Chief Mike Reese and Mayor Sam Adams, held a press conference to outline the basic events of the shooting.
At 6:21 p.m. Wednesday, officers from the team attempted to make a stop on a vehicle that they say had been making turns without turn signals and driving erratically. After turning on their lights and using an air horn, the driver eventually pulled over to the side after several blocks. Police wouldn't say whether the squad car making the stop was unmarked or not.
According to the police, the suspect in the vehicle wouldn't comply with officer demands and shouted profanities at them. After Tasing the suspect, he reached into the passenger side of the vehicle, produced a firearm and fired at officers. Police are not releasing the name of the suspect until the coroner submits his autopsy report.
Officer Christopher Burley, a 5-year veteran, was shot once in both legs. Other officers at the scene enacted an "officer rescue," pulling him from the scene and transported him to Legacy Emanuel hospital in their squad car. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Officers Jim Defrain, Cody Berne, and Andrew Polas shot the suspect. Reese declined to say how many shots were fired, although an independent account by a witness posted on The Portland Mercury's website that it was about 15 shots. That witness also took a video of the shooting, which has not been released.
Police then shot the suspect with a beanbag gun after he didn't respond to commands. According to police, they then removed him from the vehicle and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident call printout, given to the media Thursday morning, tells a slightly different story. It indicates that police beanbagged the suspect as he was on the ground, then moved in to secure the suspect's hands.
At 6:28: "BB THE SUSP … LAYG ON GROUND. POSS WEAP UNDER HIM," reads the printout.
Then at 6:29, ", NO MOMENT (sic) AFTER BB. MOVING FORWARD TO TAKE HIM INTO CUST," the printout reads.
Mayor Sam Adams -- who on Wednesday morning took control of the police department from Commissioner Dan Saltzman, fired Chief Rosie Sizer and appointed Mike Reese to the position -- was on the scene that night to speak with officers and observe their job.
"I want to see the lay of the land, but not to direct," he said.
Adams said after spending time at the scene of the shooting, he stopped by the hospital to visit Officer Burley.
"As someone, a civilian, close to the scene, this was a heartbreaking scene," he said. "To see a young Portlander dead on one of our sidewalks is really heartbreaking. This shouldn't happen. I'm not passing judgment on the officers involved."
Adams promised a "thorough, fair and speedy" investigation into the shooting and a clear explanation of the timeline. He said it was important to be as transparent as possible with officer involved shootings.
When asked whether the officers would be forced to submit a toxicology review to determine if their actions were influenced by steroids, alcohol or another substance, Adams told The Skanner News that he would "want to dig into it."
"I certainly don't want our officers impaired in judgment or work impaired in any way," he said. "So I want to look at the best way of ensuring that. But in terms of the detail, I have to get up to speed."
