PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland police arrested a man who was caught on video shooting a traffic camera during a string of similar crimes over the last few weeks. Police believe he vandalized more than a dozen cameras, causing over $500,000 in damages.
Around 1:14 p.m. on Monday, officers responded to reports of a shooting near Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Northeast Oregon Street. Police determined that a man stopped his vehicle and fired shots at city-owned property before driving away.
Similar shootings were reported shortly after along Southeast Stark Street at Southeast 122nd Avenue and Southeast 148th Avenue. Officers searched the area and found the vehicle near Southeast 148th Avenue and Southeast Division Street.
“Officers determined this might be the individual they’ve been looking for," said Mike Benner, a spokesman for Portland police. "So, they started thinking outside the box and they tried to figure out where he might be going next. And they basically intercepted him.”
In a statement seeking to "correct the details" surrounding the arrest of 28-year-old Chase Grijalva, the Portland Police Bureau said that he was seen driving recklessly through Southeast Portland, at times swerving into oncoming lanes. When he stopped for officers, he got out of his car in "a very non-compliant, agitated state" and PPB said he kept reaching for his waistband.
"These were concerning actions considering several shootings had just occurred," the agency said. "Officers used physical force to take Grijalva into custody."
Both Grijalva and one Portland police officer were injured in the scuffle, PPB said, although the agency did not elaborate on the extent of those injuries. Grijalva appeared in court on Tuesday with significant swelling and bruising around both eyes.
Grijalva was booked on 17 counts of first-degree criminal mischief, 17 counts of unlawful use of a weapon, and resisting arrest. He made his first court appearance Tuesday for an arraignment, and will be held in jail pending his next appearance on June 20.
Last week, police released video taken on May 27 allegedly showing Grijalva driving a dark-colored Subaru WRX with no license plate pull over, step out of the vehicle and fire three shots at a traffic camera at Southeast Washington Street and 103rd Avenue.
The camera tracks red light and speeding violations. A KGW photographer who went to the area found shattered glass on the front of the camera.
“Anytime you discharge a firearm within city limits, really anywhere, somebody can get injured,” Benner said.
According to court documents, Grijalva does not have any significant criminal history in Oregon. But between March 2024 and this month, he racked up four speeding tickets — receiving his latest violation on Friday. Three of those tickets came from the Washington Street and 103rd intersection. Another came a couple blocks away on Southeast Stark Street and 102nd.
Portland police ask anyone with information about the case to send an email to crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov addressed to Property Crimes Unit and reference case number 24-134019.