Man shot and killed outside hospital had been in ER
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PORTLAND, Ore. – A man shot by police in a parking lot at a local hospital after he wouldn't put down his gun was a patient at that facility, hospital officials said Tuesday.
The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. Sunday in the employee parking lot at Portland Adventist Medical Center at 10123 S.E. Market Street.
Hospital officials said the man had been in the Emergency Room of the hospital before the shooting. No other details were released.
"I heard like a bunch of it (gunfire) go off at once, so we're talking maybe nine shots," said Marcus Beck, who lives nearby.
The man who was shot died after being shot at by three police officers, police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson said. The man has not yet been identified pending notification of next of kin and an autopsy.
Responding officers were told the man was a hospital patient armed with a black handgun and that he had pointed the gun at a hospital security vehicle.
As some officers worked to lock down the hospital, others approached the suspect in the employee parking lot on the east side of the building.
The officers gave the man commands, but at some point the situation escalated and the three officers fired shots, killing the suspect, Simpson said.
Officers used a ballistic shield to approach the man and treat him, but medical responders pronounced him dead at the scene. No officers were hurt.
Police have not said if the man fired his weapon at officers.
Police did call Project Respond (a mobile crisis team of mental health experts) to the scene but Simpson said everything happened so fast that there wasn't really anything they could do.
"There was really no time for anything like that - very little communication, if you will," Simpson said. "The situation developed quickly. We don't know yet enough about this person to know what the situation was - does he have a history, was he in crisis or was there some other reason why he was there."
Hospital spokeswoman Judy Leach said the hospital has policies in place to protect patients and staff during an incident like this. The hospital refers to the lockdown as 'code silver.'
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales was at the hospital Sunday evening after he was contacted by police about what was happening. The mayor's spokesperson, Dana Haynes, said Hales cannot comment until the investigation is concluded.
An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday and police said they would likely have more details about the incident by Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the officers involved in the shooting (who worked at the East Precinct) will stay on administrative leave during an investigation of the shooting, as is standard procedure. They have been identified as:
- Sgt. Nathan Voeller, a 12-year veteran
- Officer Andrew Hearst, a 3-year veteran
- Officer Royce Curtiss, a 7-year veteran
This guy was a lifetime criminal, was a fugitive from the law and had just recently suspected of robbing two banks in Portland. Now he is pointing an object resembling a gun at nursing staff, security staff and eventually the ppd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=knFmNQawGMI. He wanted this to happen and facilitated his demise quite expertly. The only foul play going on here is from those of you accusing  police in this incident.
KOIN is saying he was an escaped federal prisoner.
@Oldret Saying here now too on the updated page..
Wonder how many will still say the police fired too soon?Â
Am I alone in seeing a problem with Livefyre today? Some of the stories and poster names are overlapping and overprinting each other. Or is IE to blame?Â
@jpk I switched to Chrome a few months back....I'll never go back to IE.
@jpk Well I'm viewing on Chrome and have no issue, yet.. Perhaps load another browser & see if it has the same issue? Or restart IE see if that helps??Â
@jpk You still use IE? This isn't the 90's you know.
"An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday and police said they would likely have more details about the incident by Wednesday." Let me give this a try....Ummmm, Ummmm, he was shot and killed. Why you need an autopsy for that?Â
@dkgiovenco He might have used an invisible gun to kill himself, never mind the likely dozens of bullet holes in him from the police..
From what I read in the article, the guy had a black gun and pointed it at a securty guard. No meniton of shots fired there. The hospital staff calls the police. Still no meniton of shots fired. At this point I am thiking it could have been a toy gun. Then the article menitons that the police come on to the scene. They yell some comands at the suspect. Then it mentions that the situation escalated, but it never menitons any shots being fired by the suspect. It did, however mentions that three officers opened fire and shot him dead. I think death is a pretty extreme penelty for pointing a gun. The portland police did a bad job here, and now they are on paid vacation as a result. do we have a great government or what? I think not
@fedupwiththefeds  Do you feel a little stupid yet? Dude has been convicted of multiple crimes (including homicide) and is on the run. He has a gun and gets shot by police yet the police are totally in the wrong here according to you. fedupwithdumbsh**s like you who want to blame the cops for doing their job. And so far it looks like it was done properly. Still, I'd want to hear all the details before making that decision for sure instead of rushing to judgement one way or another...like you. My only judgement is on you at this point and it's a pretty easy one.
@fedupwiththefeds Don't be an idiot. Pointing a weapon is using deadly force. If he points it he is only a tiny fraction of a second from shooting someone. The police had no choice but to shoot him.
Or do you somehow think that the bad guys get a free shot before the cops can fire?Â
@fedupwiththefedsYou're a fricken idiot....you watch too many movies and live in la la land if you think an officer is not going to fire upon a suspect who points a gun at them...real or not!  So what if it's a fake gun...that would of  been his choice...it's suicide by cop either way.  God, I lose my mind reading drivel like your comment.  Toy gun or not, in the middle of the night..it's not going to matter, and even during the day...it's not going to matter.  He made his choice, he decided how it was going to end.  He got what he wanted.  Let's see, would you rather let him get a shot off first?  Possible kill an officer?  Is that your suggestion?  Or shoot him in the leg or shoot the gun out of his hand?  Once again, we have another armchair quarterback who has no clue what reality is when it comes to protecting and serving.
@PD1202 @fedupwiththefeds In fairness, this story says he pointed a gun at a security vehicle...I still haven't figured out if someone was IN the vehicle, nor does the story say.  I think until more information is made available, people should wait to see whether lethal force was necessary or not.  I "get" that if the officers felt threatened or that their life was in danger, they had every right to protect themselves.  But we don't know yet if that's the case or not.  If shooting/killing a citizen were rare in Portland, there probably wouldn't be suspicion.  But we all know that's not the case, at least in the past year or so.
@PD1202Â Flattery will get you...everywhere! Â I'm not a "cop hater", but I don't place unwavering support in the decision-making mindset of some of them. Â I truly believe the DOJ was correct in investigating PPB, because I think there's a percentage of them that act no better than your average run-of-the-mill bully except they have a badge to justify it. Â Look at the incident in Forest Grove last month -- look at 10 cops firing blindly in the dark, hundreds of rounds....firing at an off-duty cop who'd lost it. Â And it's common knowledge that once there's a single gun shot, they all start unloading. Â We'll have to wait and see how this one turns out -- they're being very very quiet at this point, and that doesn't instill a ton of confidence in me, at least yet. Â Â
@Sundowner @PD1202 @fedupwiththefeds My rant was a general one regarding a suspect pointing a firearm at police..if he did, which what I've read so far seems to be the case, then there is no other option.  I agree, more info is needed...I just hate sitting by and reading cop hater comments, and I get passionate about it.  That's why I need you here, to calm me down...  : )
@fedupwiththefedsÂ
I suppose the officers should've waited until he fired?? Â It's often too late AFTER a suspect has fired. Should they have taken the risk of him killing an innocent bystander? Perhaps killing one or more of the officers?Â
This is split second stuff here- take him out BEFORE he kills somebody else!Â
If he had killed YOUR wife/mother/child and the police had hesitated, not taken him out when they had a chance, Â I bet you would be singing a different tune.
Headline: "Cops hesitate to to fire, armed gunman kills three before being brought down!"Â
How many would be screaming over THAT headline??Â
And your reaction would be if someone pointed a gun at you? If you point a gun at someone who tells you to drop yours and has guns of their own, you listen. THEN  talk it all out. I don't see why it is so hard to see that if you point a gun at a cop, don't expect him to not react in kind
Suicide by cop?
Personally, if someone pulls a gun and points it at me, I'm not going to wait to find out what the chances might be that he will shoot me immediately or after much brandishing and wordplay, just walk away. Â
I was told never to gamble what you can't afford to lose, I believe my life is something I can't afford to lose...
Why did it take three officers to shoot him? Why not only one? I wasn't there, so I don't know if it was justified or not, however, I do have to wonder why all three officers opened fire at the same time instead of one designated officer taking the lead, etc. For safety concerns, I'm sure, they want to protect themselves (and others), but it seems like it was in excess.   More details would be helpful, of course before any real judgments can be made.
@Justanother1Â Because all three were reacting to the same situation. Â Not much time to draw straws to see who will react.
@Oldret @Justanother1 AGREED!
Split second decisions here- they don't confer via radio and do "rock, paper, scissors" to decide who's going to shoot. Â
@Justanother1 @cwpholder @Oldret Talking to someone pointing a gun is kinda dangerous.  All he has to do to shoot you is to make the decision to do so.  I wasn't being sarcastic, it's just the truth, 3 cops see the same thing, they individually react.  This guy made some really bad choices, the cops need to be able to go home at night.
@Sundowner @cwpholder @Justanother1 I'm very sorry to read that.. About the man who was killed..Â
Yes, I agree there are a few bad apples in the barrel and cops are only human. They make mistakes..Â
But for the most part they are self sacrificing people with noble intentions. They often pay a high price for serving and so do their families, sometimes the ultimate price..Â
@cwpholder @Justanother1 I'm not a "cop hater", but I no longer give PPB a free pass every time they kill someone, which has become more and more frequent (or the DOJ wouldn't have conducted an investigation).  I'm reminded of the man who police killed because they "thought" they were firing a bean bag.  BTW, when I say I'm no cop hater, the PPB officer who was paralyzed in December is my closest (female) friend's brother.  He was truly one of the 'good guy' cops, he was a wonderful son to his mother (who died in the Fall), he's a wonderful husband, father, brother.  But you know that not all officers are, nor are all carpenters or attorneys or teachers or bricklayers.
@Justanother1 @cwpholder @OldretÂ
Sorry I didn't mean to come off as harsh.. It's just that there are a lot of "cop haters" that post here and I have respect for the police & the job they do. They risk their life every day for us- my son wants to join the force so I'm a bit overprotective.. Â :)Â
@cwpholder @Oldret @Justanother1  While I appreciate the response, I was actually really asking if police have a lead officer, etc.  I wasn't being critical of the officers. Simply asking a question.   Particularly if this was a mentally ill individual that could have, perhaps, been tazed or talked to or something else might have worked instead of three policemen shooting him first before hand.  But, I understand that there are some circumstances that can't be avoided for safety concerns.  Â
Wow. tough crowd.  Can't have a questioning mind without people being sarcastic in response.
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@trololol Doubtful,Â
MOST CWP/CHL carriers know better than to point a gun at the police! SMH!
If they don't or they're told to "drop it" and don't then they should NOT be carrying a gun, concealed or otherwise!Â
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@Ghetto Baby Thought provoking response.
"There was really no time for anything like that - very little communication..."Â
Typical Portland police reaction: When they're not shooting mentally ill people, they're stomping them to death, like they did James Chasse.
@gofigure So in your (small) mind, the best options were for either...
The cops dont even respond and allow the perp to go on a shooting spree in the hospital, or just stand there and let the guy shoot them.Â
I know that dead cops are your preference as opposed to dead bad guys, but I prefer the cops live. I'm just funny that way.
@gofigure Jammes Chase, I still laugh ever time I hear that name. Guess he won't be pissing on my buildings anymore, owell.
@gofigure Well, if a crazy person is ever pointing a gun at you at a hospital I hope the police call in some medical and psychological experts before they determine how best not to offend the man who's aiming to blow your freakin' brains all over the lobby.Â
Just sit there and wait for awhile while they make some phone calls. He won't hurt you.
@Playanekes I wonder what would happen if the cops decided to strike.....I wonder how long the outcry would be before they wanted them back...
@Playanekes I swear these fools must inhabit some alternate reality.
Probably had been given some meds that did not agree with him. Have had several family member go off because of the meds they were being given.
@Yamhill354Â Was he given a gun too do ya think? I'm pretty sure he was shot because he was armed, thats WHY they called police.
@Janusfree @Yamhill354 I do not see anywhere that I suggested or even mentioned the gun. Or anything about him being shot for that matter.
I have no more idea then you do where he obtained the gun. Had nothing to do with my comment.
Well, this comes as a surprise, as I live sort of close by and at that time was tuned in to Downton Abbey (selective hearing and TV up enough so I didn't miss some quietly spoken but poignantly acerbic comment from the Dowager) so I didn't hear anything like squadron of police cars screaming up the street more than I usually do.
@whirledworld The police can be very quiet. Awhile back had a driveby next door. Waited about 15 min and went out to see what was going on and there were lots of cops. Another time I noticed lights in my yard and thought it was a helicopter but it was cops going through my yard on foot with flashlights. They told me to back in my house. I said make-me - not really, I did go and check door locks though
@Bert True they can..your story reminds me of one time some years back while at a pal's house near Lloyd Center in the afternoon we were sitting on the front porch and saw cops prowling around yards and watched in curiosity til we heard some man's voice (a cop's I assume) yell: Look out he's go a gun!!" as they came chasing around the yard from the back ( where we did not know they were)and we scrambled up the steps, pushed the door open and I literally dove for the floor and slid across the hardwood staying low in front of the huge picture window. My pal hung low behind the solid oak door. He later asked in amazement: "Where did you learn to dive on the floor like that?" and I said, " Saw it on TV...that's what people do when there is shooting starting, right?"
East precinct is real close to adventist
@Bert a short sprint, in fact
Off topic Dont you find all these ads on here annoying? If Katu want us to use it's forum could they can the ads on the forum pages,like those stupid ads for insurance..it slows up getting here geez does KATU make enough on television..
@Nuclear-XÂ YES!
It might just be me but it seems they've become worse over the last couple weeks...Â
@Nuclear-XÂ I left the kptv board because their ads actually block comments and at times are positioned so you cannot post. This is much better. Any other kptv transplants out there? Like vbg
@Bert I was always able to do TUs or TDs from my Android on KPTV, but never able to comment. And here, I've never been able to figure out how to comment from my Android. Â
Well, all speculation aside, I imagine that this event was fully captured on the hospital's security cameras.
I'm more concerned about how a mentally ill inpatient was able to get access to a firearm in the first place.
@UtterReality Oh? They don't sell them at the hospital anymore? BTW, where did you hear he was a mentally ill inpatient? I must of missed that part.Â