PORTLAND, Ore. — This week, Portland police released aerial video of an attempted street takeover on Northeast Fremont and 82nd Avenue — and the subsequent arrest of the suspect. It was part of a weekend mission earlier this month, where investigators reported nearly 30 arrests, 184 traffic stops, 80 citations and 39 vehicles towed.
This particular incident began after midnight on Sunday, Aug. 4. Portland police said the takeover attempt at the intersection lasted about 10 minutes before it was broken up. One of the drivers spun in the intersection in a black Chevy Camaro and eluded officers as they tried to pull him over.
"I'm recording the guy doing donuts right now," said an officer in the aerial video. "He's going in between regular traffic."
The driver of the Camaro didn't make it far with the Portland Police Bureau's Air Support Unit watching his every turn from above. Police threw down spike strips and flattened vehicle's tires before the car drove through a neighborhood and three people hopped out.
"I think he's probably getting ready to ditch this thing," one of the officers said in the video.
When the driver finally got out of the car, the airplane video shows him running into a yard and hiding in someone's side garden. KGW spoke with the woman who lives there, who did not want to be identified.
"Chaos ensued," she said on Monday. "There was probably a minimum of 25 to 30 policemen. It was crazy, I thought. I had no idea what was going on at that point. I'm thinking, 'Oh my god, maybe someone was shot.'"
As officers descended on the street with a K-9, the suspect, identified as 25-year-old Victor Ferman Camacho of Vancouver, got off the ground and walked towards police with his hands up. Portland police said he was booked into jail on charges of Reckless Driving, Attempt to Elude Police, Speed Racing on a Highway and Reckless Endangering another Person.
The homeowner said she's grateful for the crackdown, but has a few questions for police.
"I need somebody to answer, why did it take 30 police to capture this one kid? I was angry at him because he caused the commotion, but couldn't it have taken half a dozen to take down one kid, even if he was armed? I don't get it," she said.