PORTLAND, Ore. — Police officers shot and killed a man outside Mall 205 in Southeast Portland Wednesday afternoon. Police described the man as a suspect in a robbery with an active arrest warrant, and said he was shot during a confrontation when the officers attempted to arrest him.
Three officers fired at the man, according to a news release from the Portland Police Bureau, and a firearm was later found next to him, but police did not release any further details about the circumstances of the shooting and did not say whether the man fired at the officers or displayed the gun during the confrontation.
The Portland Police Bureau initially reported around 4:30 p.m. that a majority of the Mall 205 parking lot and the adjacent portion of Southeast 96th Avenue were closed for a police shooting investigation, and said the closure would last several hours. The agency said there were no reported injuries to officers, but provided no further details about the situation at the time.
The investigation appeared to be concentrated around a T-Mobile store in a satellite building at the southwest corner of the Mall 205 property. Numerous officers and investigators could be seen moving in and out of the store late Wednesday afternoon, with patrol cars outside and most of the surrounding parking lot area roped off.
In a subsequent news release at around 7:30 p.m., PPB said officers had been dispatched just after 3:30 p.m. to "a large department store" in Mall 205 and were told that a suspect in a previous robbery was trying to steal merchandise, and that the suspect had an active arrest warrant.
Nearby members of the Focused Intervention Team responded and saw the suspect leaving the store. The suspect began running when the officers moved in to arrest him in the parking lot, according to the news release.
There was a confrontation between the suspect and officers near the west end of the Mall 205 parking lot along Southeast 96th Avenue, and the officers shot and injured the suspect. Police called EMS to the scene, and the officers approached the suspect and confirmed he was dead, according to the news release. They also found a firearm next to him.
Two of the officers who fired their weapons were from the Focused Intervention Team and the third was from the East Precinct, police said. Detectives with the Portland Police Homicide Unit responded to the scene and began investigating. The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on leave, which is standard procedure, police said.
Portland police chief Bob Day also responded to the scene.
"Use of deadly force by the police always has a significant impact on the members of the police bureau, the family of the involved person, and our whole community," Day said in a statement. "I look forward to learning more about this incident after Detectives have time to do a complete, thorough investigation, and I want to assure the community that we will share more about the circumstances as soon as we can. But knowing that the suspect was armed is a sobering reminder of the dangers of policework. This has been a challenging week where Bureau members have been investigating homicides and multiple fatal crashes, and I’m grateful for the professional work being done by PPB members."
Day has briefed Mayor Ted Wheeler's staff and the city attorney's office, according to the news release. PPB will conduct an internal review of the incident as part of its use of force review process, and the case will also go before the Police Review Board, which includes a mix of PPB and community members, according to the news release.
The incident is Portland's fourth deadly police shooting this year, and the second this month after the Dec. 6 death of Isaac Seavey.
This is a developing story and may be updated with more details as they emerge.
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