Man shot by police a 'gentle giant,' according to friends, family
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PORTLAND, Ore. – Family and friends say the man shot by Portland police over the weekend has never been violent before, but now he's the suspect in an attempted murder.
Officers responded to the Hathaway Apartments on Southeast 134th early Saturday morning after 38-year-old Vadim V. Kobenko was shot there. Police chased the suspect, 27-year-old Joshua Stephen Baker, for four miles until he crashed. That's when an officer opened fire.
Baker's sister, Rhiannon Bassett, and roommate, Amber Schmidt, are upset and not excusing his actions but want people to know the man they know.
Bassett sent KATU News pictures of her brother, describing him as a "gentle giant."
She admitted he must need mental help and said he's gone downhill since they learned last year their biological mother was convicted of murdering an officer in Arizona.
She heard from neighbors at the Hathaway Apartments that Baker was looking for his girlfriend when he had the gun Saturday and that he must have accidentally shot the other man.
She and Schmidt said they feel for that family but are still trying to wrap their heads around what happened.
"Just flabbergasted. Absolutely shocked. It's a whirlwind of emotions," said Bassett by phone Monday. "It's fear for the guy fighting for his life. It's fear for my brother."
She said Baker was going for his girlfriend, Jesse, with a gun but accidently shot Kobenko.
"He freaked out, he didn't know what to do," Bassett said. "I really don't think he meant to shoot that guy. I don't know if he meant to kill Jesse. I just, I don't want to believe he's capable of that."
"He's a completely different person than all that anger and rage," said Schmidt. "I've known him for a long time. I just could never imagine him doing something like this."
They said they don't know how to feel toward police right now. They don't know what Baker did in the moments before an officer fired.
Police said Baker refused to comply with officer commands and witnesses told KATU News he was holding a rifle.
Baker suffered non-life-threatening injuries and is now being held at the Multnomah County Jail, facing charges of first-degree assault with a firearm, attempted murder with a firearm and fourth-degree domestic violence assault, according to police.
Portland police identified the officers involved in the shooting as Erik Strohmeyer, a 12-year veteran, and Garry Britt, a four-year veteran. Both are on paid leave during the investigation, which is standard procedure.
Kobenko is in critical condition at a local hospital, police said.
On Monday evening, his daughter and brother told KATU News he should live, and he woke up and told them he was trying to protect a woman. He said he was shot in the chest when he refused to leave.
@jpdx00 so your fugitive friend is hurt but how about reminding everyone that vadim kobenko was a federal fugitive and had just recently been arrested for attempted burglary, conspiracy to commit a crime and was also carrying a concealed weapon. Not saying that what J. Baker did was right by any means just letting people know he was a "pos" too.
This is someone's brother, show a little compassion. Even if he shot the guy in the chest, you weren't there to know what happened NO ONE was except him and the other guy.
gentle giant.. except for the murder part.
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This gentle giant is no Shrek!
Anyone that picks up a gun points it and shoots someone by "accident"Â then runs away and point the same gun at officers is not mentally ill, he is just plain stupid and unfortunately God had pity on him instead of allowing the cleansing of the gene pool.
 @Civ @portlander29 Every time we'd see a high speed chase or a standoff with a criminal on TV, my dad would say "just shoot him!" We all tend to think that way until it's someone we know. I hope you never experience this kind of thing with family or friends - I did, and that's the reason for my user ID. But I never tried to reason away the person's actions - was just glad he got help in the end, albeit through the penal system. Rehabilitation...not cleansing the gene pool!
 @disgruntledfamily  @Civ "We all tend to think that way until it's someone we know".  I'll bet the law enforcement officer's family feels the same way.  Point a gun at a police officer and you get what you get.  They get to go home too....
He "accidently" shot the guy in the chest huh? WTF KATU? A completely biased opinionated news article trying to paint this guy as something other than an attempted murderer? This article is pathetic...You call yourselves a "news" organization? This is trash and I'm starting to wonder how you call yourselves a NEWS Station.
Sounds like the giants sister is setting the Portland Police Department up for another law suit. She's saying all the right things, mental issues, he's passive. Sounds like the Lukus Glenn case all over again.
He was obviously taught that violent encounters are a reasonable resolution to conflict. Evidentally by Mom...
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'he's gone downhill since they learned last year their biological mother was convicted of murdering an officer in Arizona.'
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'Baker was going for his girlfriend, Jesse, with a gun but accidently shot Kobenko.'
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When he used that (learned) behavior in an effort to 'resolve' one conflict, he shot someone other than his intended target.Â
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'She and Schmidt said they feel for that family but are still trying to wrap their heads around what happened.'
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Really?Â
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He was 'going' for his girlfriend, with a gun, and 'accidentally' shot someone else... and you're trying to 'wrap your head' around what happened?
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 Upon fleeing the scene, and endangering countless innocent citizens in a high-speed persuit, he eventually disabled his own vehicle, and then refused to comply with officers who eventually subdued him using lethal force when presented with a clear and obvious danger to themselves and other citizens.Â
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Does that help you 'wrap your heads' around what happened?
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Frankly, you should be celebrating the officers restraint. Given the circumstances, you're damn lucky that you're not planning his memorial service.Â
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 @MarkKpic his friends and family are having a hard time wrapping their heads around it because that is not the man they know. He was truly a kind, gentle, caring, man.  It's not that they don't understand what happened, but when something like this happens to someone you know who has never shown ANY signs of anything like this, it IS hard to wrap your mind around it.Â
Let me ge this straight, Joshua goes to shoot girlfriend but unstead shoots "accidentally" the person that intervenes to stop him and sister, biological daughter of murderer, discribes J as "gentle Giant", sounds like apple and tree to me
KATU I am ashamed of you for attempting to write an glowing piece about a man who possibly murdered someone, had ample oppurtunity to injur or kill others as he fled at high speeds from police, and then threatend the police with a rifle.  Not only did you make this POS sound like the St. Mary, but you also with your twisted words made it appear as though the police have once again done something wrong. Â
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Bravo Erica Nochlin, only you and KATU can do this.  Again I ask why is this news?
".....She said Baker was going for his girlfriend, Jesse, with a gun but accidently shot Kobenko....."
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I have always been confused at the use of "..mentally disturbed...". as a defense for murder / attempted murder.  If the guy is so mentally disturbed that he thinks shooting someone, leading the police on a dangerous chase, then pointing a gun at law enforcement are acceptable actions, he needs to be locked up, probably for the rest of his life.  If the duty of law enforcement is to protect the general public, I don't know how much more of an example you'd need to believe that this guy needs to be out of circulation.... permanently.
they made the whole story about this pos. how about telling the public that vadim is paralyzed and if he makes it theres a chance that he wont walk. story should have been- Pos still alive after shooting unarmed man. man saves woman from a woman beater. portland police you let us down this time!Â
 @victamon Can't blame the police for this one.  The Portland police have been so beaten up by the public that I'm afraid you'll see more situations like this rather than fewer.  They can't use deadly force without years of litigation and law suits.  Cops will hesitate, err on the side of keeping their job, less on protecting the public from threats like this.  You are getting what you asked for, people....
Oh, brother...here we go again with the "He is such a great guy, just a big gentle giant...blah, blah, blah....he shot someone, led the police on a pursuit, then got out of his truck and pointed the rifle at the officers....quite the "gentle" giant.Â
 @PD1202 Anyone following this story knows a crime, or several crimes took place. No one is saying this man is innocent of said crime(s). They are simply sharing the shock they are suffering. Is it so difficult to have a little bit of compassion?
 @spot  @PD1202 No it's not....but I don't have compassion for a man who shot another man and failed to comply with an officer's commands.....so, cry me a river about is mental "issues" if there were any at all....and if there are mental issues at play...then, why oh why didn't the family intervene?  They said he was dealing with issues...
 @PD1202  @spot Yes, he needs to answer for his actions. But he does have psych issues and the family did try to help. A person has to WANT to be helped for it to work. Just sayin'.
Another victim of the police state...
 @!!! In what way?
 @!!! I hope you're being sarcastic....if not, STFU!!
I doubt that someone with true mental illness would have the wherewithal to successfully obtain, load, and operate a firearm. Sorry; not buying it.
 @Whobeke Clearly, you don't know much about mental illness. Further, 'mental illness' is not specifically mentioned in this article.
I agree with you on the mental ilness issue.  Furthermore it seems almost anyone can obtai a FOI card.
Here we go again, another suspect victimized by mental issues! Will it ever end? I see another hugh payoff to the family of this alleged "gentle giant"!Â
At least he is still alive. Doesn't happen very often with Portland Police shooting someone.
@Mikey I know right... murder is the norm...
 @!!! "murder is the norm..." Really? So in the hundreds or thousands of interactions that Portland Police Officers have with the public every day, how many of them involve the officers murdering someone? If there aren't several every day, in what way could it be a "norm"?
officers are now being fitted with cams, I wonder if Portland police have such devices? There going to need them, or rather were going to need them.
Most gentle giants I have known in the past don't have fire arms.. My question is how do these people get guns in the first place... ?  Oh I know, it's your right..  Ever think about the right of the person who doesn't want shot ? Probably not, since it's all about you ...
 @dougrpdx Taking away someone's right to arm themselves isn't going to stop anyone but regular law-abiding citizens from obtaining a gun and using it. There are so many guns and so many people willing to sell them that it would be an almost insurmountable task. Not to mention that a projectile firing device is not all that difficult to construct.
 @Mikey  @dougrpdx It comes back to the same old adage that if you outlaw guns then only outlaws will have guns. There are many of us who own firearms who are not pointing them at other people and not using them irresponsibly. Taking away guns from law abiding citizens is not going to solve this problem. These guys (non law abiding citizens) are still going to have guns. So now you have filtered down the results to only the wrong people owning guns.
 @dougrpdx people who don't want to get shot shouldn't get in front of a guy with a gun.
 @disgruntledfamily @dougrpdxÂ
@Dis, that's kind of a silly thing to say considering it's not always obvious who is carrying.
@Doug, criminals will obtain guns regardless of the laws because they rarely care that "oh no, the law says I shouldn't have this gun I am going to rob someone with". The only thing gun restrictions do is to limit the freedom of responsible owners and *maybe* keep safe morons who keep thier guns around other morons or children.
Obviously he was just hunting avids?
@peregrine: the reports say that the suspect was carrying a rifle, it's kind of hard not to see a rifle coming.
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I'm not sure about the gun control laws but from what I do know is it's as accessible as your local Wal-Mart and there's no mandatory wait time for rifles. He didn't have to be a criminal to get one, he just needed an ID. Maybe he was an avid hunter?
If he were my brother or friend, I'd just be glad that he wasn't dead. Again, it's not a good idea to ever get into an armed confrontation with the police. Anyone can snap and it sounds like there were existing issues with this man. the police may have actually done him a favor. Now maybe he will get the help he needs before something worse happens.
 @Finally Sorry, IMHO folks that pull a gun on cops should be administered 147 gr. of Pb repeatedly until they are no longer a threat.  Cops deserve to go home safe, too.....
I wouldn't disagree with you. However the ACLU does and the government seems to respect them more than you or I.
 @Finally I don't think the ACLU would have anything to say if  law enforcement officer shot and killed a person pointing a gun directly at them.   I'm not talking about blasting folks for sport.  If a private citizen did that it would be ruled self defense. Â
 @Finally Bravo!
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"Anyone can snap..." so you acknowledge that police are also known to "snaP". Of course, that question has been answered many times in the past where cops shoot unarmed people this guy is fortunate that they didn't finish the job.