Portland police officers are gathering in Lents Park in Southeast Portland on Friday, April 16, 2021, following a shooting by police.
Jonathan Levinson
Portland police shot a person in Lents Park in Southeast Portland just after 9:30 a.m. on Friday. Police confirmed that the victim, a white man who was not identified, died on the spot.
Sgt. Kevin Allen said agents from the agency’s East Precinct have been sent to a “suspicious circumstance involving a weapon.” Acting Police Chief Chris Davis, who stands in for Chief Chuck Lovell during Lovell’s vacation, said the call was for a “white man pointing a gun in the park.” When asked if police found a gun on the spot, Davis said he couldn’t answer that question just yet.
Police closed streets around Southeast 92nd Avenue and Holgate Street, where the shooting took place.
Davis said officers used both a 40-millimeter, less-than-lethal launcher and a standard firearm during the encounter. He did not say how many officers fired or how many bullets had been fired.
Juan Chavez, who works as a caretaker at a nearby AM / PM supermarket, said he had seen a man blocking traffic and acting erratically before the shooting. He said he saw an ambulance arriving to talk to the man on the street about 20 minutes before the shooting. Chavez said he saw medical workers helping the man on a stretcher. A short time later the ambulance left but did not transport the man. Chavez reported hearing two shots after police arrived at the park.
The location of the shooting is in an area served by Portland Street Response, a recently launched non-police unit that helps people who are homeless or in a mental health crisis. Several people in the area told OPB they thought the man had camped nearby. Allen said he couldn’t say specifically why police were involved in the call instead of Portland Street Response, but noted that the specialist team typically does not respond to calls involving guns.
“Street Response was not sent, and given the information we had, it wouldn’t have been appropriate,” Davis said. “This conversation would be outside of Street Response protocols.”
The office staff of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was on site at the shooting.
By noon, protesters arrived, as did the police in riot gear. They threatened to disperse the crowd. Agents from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office helped control the crowd surrounding the shooting site.
In a written statement, Wheeler urged calmness: “These shootings are always traumatic for everyone involved and for our community, regardless of the circumstances. I want to express my condolences to the person concerned and his family. My thoughts are also with the agents involved. I visited the scene this morning to show respect for the individual, their family, the officers and our community. I have received a preliminary briefing and will continue to receive updates as information becomes available.
“I recognize why people are concerned and possibly angry. As our understanding of this incident develops, I urge everyone to move forward with empathy and peace. “
This story is being updated.