Ex-con threatens violence; shuts down Glendoveer

If you wondered why NE Glisan Street was shut down most of Sunday morning – it ended OK, except for dozens of golfers who missed their tee-time …

Numerous Glendoveer Golf Course duffers and path hikers discovered their Sunday morning recreation would be delayed until nearly noon, as the police SERT crew coaxed a released felon out of a home directly across from the Ringside Restaurant.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton
A 5:30 a.m. “domestic violence” call reporting an inebriated felon, on post-prison release supervision, claiming to be armed with a pistol, was enough cause to rally the Portland Police Bureau’s Special Emergency Response Team on September 14.

The first police officers to arrive on-scene at the single-family dwelling in the 14200 block of NE Glisan Street were able to get the home’s occupants safely out of harm’s way.

Then, the waiting began.

Police negotiators work with the telephone company to prevent other calls from reaching the holed-up troublemaker, and to try to get him to surrender.

Calls don’t coax him out
“Because this isn’t a hostage situation,” police spokesman Sgt. Brian Schmautz told us on-scene, “we’re trying to talk him into surrendering.”

Because the man, identified as 31-year-old Garvin Franklin, was on post-prison supervision for felony assault, Schmautz said officers weren’t going to take any unnecessary chances by rushing into the modest Hazelwood Neighborhood home.

Occupants of the house in which Franklin barricaded himself are safely removed from the house under siege.

Friends and relatives were calling Franklin on his cell phone, suggesting that he surrender, Schmautz reported. He didn’t heed their advice.

“We were able to isolate his phone so that he can only speak with us,” Schmautz explained. “It’s often better for him to listen to the one voice – our negotiator – without the distraction of other people giving him input.”

News crew members s look for evidence that Franklin has surrendered as reported.

‘Attention-getting device’ deployed
About 9:30 a.m., we heard a loud explosion come from the home, just out of our view.

“He has refused contact with us for some time now,” Schmautz said. “We’ve been loud-hailing him, trying unsuccessfully to get him to come out. So, we deployed an ‘attention-getting device’ in the yard to let him know that we were still here – we’re not going away – and we encourage him to continue having a conversation with us.”

The subject, 31-year-old Garvin Franklin, appears to enjoy his brief notoriety, as he smiles and makes faces out the back of the police cruiser.

Patience pays off
About 10:30 a.m., Franklin surrendered peacefully.

Schmautz came back and reported to the gaggle of news-gatherers, “We’re now in the process of securing the home. We’ll then open up the golf course, the walking trails and the road. Then, we’ll do a very thorough search of the home.”

Because police had waited patiently, no one was injured – and the home wasn’t damaged during the standoff.

“Other than a lot of upset golfers who missed their tee-time, everything’s peaceful here now at Glendoveer,” Schmautz concluded.

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