Man commits suicide after shooting at police following traffic stop near Barrydale Park

PORTLAND, Oregon (KOIN) — Police say a man is dead after shooting himself after allegedly evading a traffic stop and then firing at officers in Southeast Portland Wednesday afternoon.

At Barrdale Park, around 5 p.m., a heavy presence of police cars was observed, with several blocks of road blocked off as part of the investigation. A neighbor told KOIN 6 News she heard gunshots and screeching tires on the road earlier in the afternoon.

According to Portland police spokesman Sgt. Kevin Allen, the incident that culminated in the shooting began with a traffic stop around 3:42 p.m.

“Two officers working in a patrol car assigned to the Traffic Division conducted a traffic stop in the area of ​​Southeast 86th and Yamhill Street. The driver of the car they were attempting to stop failed to yield the right of way and sped off at a high rate of speed,” Allen said.

The two officers did not pursue the fleeing vehicle, but instead drove a few blocks to Southeast 88th Avenue. From there, they saw the suspect vehicle parked on the curb. They then saw the suspect exit the car.

“At that point, the officers came out and arrested the suspect,” Allen said. “He started running, then turned around and shot at the officers.”

The officers did not return fire and they were not injured, Allen said. However, they radioed for help. Police said the suspect continued running and then fired shots in the neighborhood.

At one point, the suspect allegedly fired shots “at another victim who was passing him as he attempted to flee,” police later said in a statement. The female driver was not injured.

“The suspect went to Berrydale Park, in the middle of the park, where he fired another shot and was injured,” Allen said. “Officers immediately called for medical assistance and went to help the suspect. He was transported to the hospital by ambulance where he later died.”

Police said no officers or community members were injured.

Because the crime scene spanned several blocks, Allen said investigators had to lock down large portions of the neighborhood, closing roads from Southeast 92nd Avenue to Southeast 88th Avenue and from Southeast Clay Street to Southeast Taylor Street.

“The officers are all fine, as are the community members,” Allen said. “But because this is a situation where we’re dealing with a suspect who used deadly force against police, the detective division responded to the scene.”

On Wednesday night, Allen said the scene remained under active investigation as detectives sought evidence, witnesses and video or “any information that would help us piece together what happened here.”

“But I can say the danger has passed,” Allen said, adding that no one was injured other than the suspect.

Although Allen called the incident “extremely alarming,” he said incidents like this are relatively rare.

Police said that while officers have the legal right to defend themselves by returning fire when targeted, the officer chose not to do so in this case because of other considerations.

“They never want to shoot and hurt someone else, or pose a greater danger to the community,” Allen said.

The neighbor who said she heard the gunshots and screeching tires told KOIN 6 News she had never seen anything like it.

“I have no problem. I play Pokémon Go and walk around all the time,” Diane said.

However, a father and son from the neighborhood say they are not surprised by this kind of activity.

Police said they are awaiting information on the suspect’s identity and will not release any names until the family has been notified. They also said it is not known at this time whether the suspect is wanted for other crimes or what the initial reason for the traffic stop was.

PPB Chief Bob Day released the following statement regarding the incident:

“This incident shows that there is no such thing as a routine checkpoint or a routine call. While I grieve the loss of life, I am relieved to know that the officers were not physically harmed, nor were the community members in the vicinity of the suspect when he chose to shoot in a neighborhood.”

This is a developing story. KOIN 6 News will update this article if more information becomes available.