See the where a pursuit from Clackamas County northward along I-205, ended with an overturned vehicle – and the driver shot – in outer East Portland …
Between the Montavilla and Hazelwood neighborhoods, Interstate 205 is shut down from SE Foster Road to Stark Street, while law enforcement investigators look into a deadly shooting by a Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office deputy.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
While most residents were considering turning in for the evening, on the cold, windy evening of January 26, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers were out in force – closing down all entrances to the Interstate 205 freeway.
Dispatched at 10:28 p.m. that evening, as many as 41 Portland Police cruisers joined numerous Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputies who were involved in a traffic pursuit – including PPB Air 2, the Bureau’s “eye in the sky” airplane, and two K-9 Units.
A squadron of law enforcement vehicles stage, northbound on I-205, after the suspect vehicle skids out of control, and rolls off the freeway.
How the incident began
What ended up in Portland started when, at 10:05 p.m., began CCSO deputies responded to a call of an unwanted person at 18000 block of Southeast Addie Street in unincorporated Clackamas County. A suspect in a domestic violence case was reportedly at that location. The suspect, 32-year-old Wesley S. Chance, was known by responding deputies to have a history of possessing firearms and body armor.
After locating his green Subaru Outback, Chance drove away at what officials characterized as at a “high rate of speed”. A deputy used spike strips to deflate the vehicle’s tires on I-205 near Highway 212 overpass.
Having driven for miles north on I-205 on the Subaru Outback’s rims, the driver loses control, flips, and comes to rest upended, on the freeway’s shoulder in Portland.
Subject brandishes handgun
“During the pursuit, a deputy reported seeing the suspect pointing a handgun out of his window at him,” a CCSO official said. “The suspect continued driving at a high rate of speed into Portland city limits, and deputies requested assistance from the Portland Police Bureau.”
With shredded tires, the Subaru Outback eventually skidded, crashed and rolled off the east side of the freeway under the Market Street Viaduct.
“Officers and deputies reported that the suspect had jumped out of the wrecked vehicle and was running away, with a gun in hand,” a PPB spokesperson continued the story. “The suspect jumped the [freeway’s] median barrier and was confronting people in vehicles that were driving southbound I-205. The [CCSO] deputy involved shooting took place at that time.”
Seldom seen at any police incident, both PPB Mobile Command Units are set up in the southbound lanes of I-205, as the investigation continues during long hours of darkness.
A PPB officer stood watch over the deceased man as the investigation got underway. Both northbound and southbound lanes of I-205 were closed to traffic – as also was the Market Street Viaduct – until about 4 a.m. on January 27.
Because the incident happened in the City of Portland, the Portland Police Homicide Unit was called in to investigate, in coordination with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, and the Multnomah County Medical Examiner.
Many law enforcement officers remain at the scene of this incident.
The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and determined Chance died from a gunshot wound.
If you have any information about this incident, please contact Detective Erik Kammerer at Erik.Kammerer@portlandoregon.gov | 503-823-0762, or Detective Michael Greenlee at Michael.Greenlee@portlandoregon.gov | 503-823-0871 – and let them know it’s regarding Case No. 22-24778.
© 2022 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™