Witnesses say driver looked ‘hell-bent on escaping’ from police …
SE 92nd Avenue is closed, just south of SE Holgate Boulevard, across the street from Lents Park, as a pursuit that started in Vancouver ends in outer East Portland.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
A Portland woman, reportedly driven to Hazel Dell, Washington, by her boyfriend, didn’t want to continue the trip on the Saturday evening of April 4.
About 8:00 p.m., the girlfriend locked herself in a bathroom of a convenience store near Highway 99, and called 9-1-1, asking for help, reported Clark County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Fred Neiman.
The deployed airbags on this Portland Police cruiser indicate the severity of the crash with the suspect’s car.
When a deputy arrived and tried to stop the driver, the white Chevy four-door sped away, headed east, and then turned south on Interstate 205.
As many as ten law enforcement vehicles, from two states, joined in the pursuit.
“Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers from East Precinct, North Precinct, and a Canine Unit, responded to I-205 southbound to assist Clark County (WA) law enforcement officers,” said PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson. “The officers were in pursuit of a possibly armed kidnapping suspect.”
Crime scene plaques mark where evidence landed, after a pursuit comes to a violent end.
The fleeing driver chose the Division/Powell, exit, and continued to SE Powell Boulevard, where he was forced to turn west. At SE 92nd Avenue, the driver turned south, banging up a vehicle while making a turn against the light.
The pursuit ended at SE 92nd Avenue, a half-block south of Holgate Boulevard, when police cars converged on the Chevy for a combination of a “Pursuit Intervention Technique” and a blocking maneuver.
The passenger’s side door remains open, after the suspect was helped out his vehicle by Portland Fire & Rescue Engine 11 paramedics.
“I saw the police cars screaming past the [convenience store] where I was getting a drink,” remarked Able Archer, who shook his head looking at the mangled cars in the street.
“There was a really big bang,” Archer told East Portland News, “not like a crash, but a ‘boom!’ explosion. When I got outside, I saw a guy, about 5’ 7”, struggling with police, like he was hell-bent on escaping.”
There was damage to several police cars and the suspect vehicle, confirmed Simpson.
Members of the PPB Traffic Division Major Crash Team work to document the crash scene.
The PPB Traffic Division Major Crash Team came to the scene, and documented the position of the vehicles using their “Total Station surveying system”, and collected other evidence.
“The suspect was taken into custody and was transported to a Portland hospital with non-life-threatening injuries,” Simpson said. “Two Portland Police officers – also with non-life-threatening injuries – were taken to a Portland hospital by fellow officers.”
25-year-old Brandon Jacob Goodin was arrested following the pursuit and crash, and is being held in custody on Parole Violation charges.
At 2:18 a.m. on April 5, Portland Police detectives booked 25-year-old Brandon Jacob Gooding into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) a charge of Attempt to Elude by Vehicle, and Possession of Methamphetamine, with a combined bail set at $10,000 for the two charges. A charge of kidnapping might also be pending.
However, Gooding remains lodged at Multnomah Counter Inverness Jail on a no-bail Parole Violation charge.
“Both injured officers were treated and released from a Portland hospital,” later reported Simpson.
© 2015 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News
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