Man shot by officers on downtown garage had fake gun

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland police officers fatally shot a man Wednesday morning who they said pointed a fake gun at officers while threatening suicide on top of a downtown parking structure.

Officers responded to reports of a man threatening suicide atop the nine-story SmartPark garage at Southwest Fourth Avenue and Morrison Street at about 3:15 a.m.

Portland Police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson initially said the man had a weapon and later elaborated to say it was a fake gun.

The man has been identified as 21-year-old Bradley Lee Morgan of Portland.

Simpson said Morgan was also the person who initially called 9-1-1 and told dispatchers he had just robbed someone at knifepoint downtown and was suicidal. Dispatchers said when asked if he had a gun, Morgan replied "possibly," according to Simpson.

Officers found Morgan on top of the garage and began talking to him at 3:40 a.m.

At 4 a.m., officers on the scene saw Morgan reach into his pocket and pull out what they described as a handgun, Simpson said. Officers fired at Morgan when he pointed the gun at the sergeant who was talking to him, Simpson said.

Simpson did not say how many shots were fired but did say two officers shot at Morgan. Morgan did not fire at officers.

After he was shot, Morgan dropped out of sight near an elevator in the parking structure and was later found dead by officers. Officers said he had a replica handgun (seen in the photo on the right) that looked real.

Simpson said officers did try to talk Morgan down and called in a negotiating team before shots were fired. No officers were injured in the incident.

Portland Police SERT and negotiation teams also went to the location but Morgan had already been shot by the time they arrived. He died at the scene.

An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.

SERT officers said Morgan was holding a black handgun when they found him, but discovered it was a fake when they took a closer look.

The officers who fired at Morgan are on administrative leave, which is normal police procedure following an officer-involved shooting.

"There is more work to be done on the investigation into the circumstances and details of this incident, including a grand jury proceeding," said Mayor Sam Adams. "As the Police Bureau does with any investigation, we will look for opportunities to learn from this incident.”

Morgan was charged with a burglary in the past as well as "tampering with a witness". He was scheduled for trial at the end of February.

On his Facebook page Morgan posted for more than a month about constantly crying and missing his newborn son. He alluded to splitting up with his son's mother and at one point said he had to sleep at a homeless shelter.

Streets around the scene, including Southwest Fourth Avenue, were closed Wednesday morning. MAX service was also disrupted but was back on schedule by about 7:30 a.m.

Streets were later re-opened but the SmartPark facility remained closed into the morning while police continued their investigation.

Police opened the top level of the parking garage by mid-afternoon.