Week #89 Shooting Report | However, this week, there were more car-to-car shootings, including one that closed down SE 82nd Avenue for hours. VIDEO: watch a CSI at work there. But, the Portland Police Bureau announced a new plan to recruit new officers …
In the Powellhurst-Gilbert, Lents, and Centennial neighborhoods, officers are continuing to be called upon to look into shooting incidents.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
There is some good news from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) this week. On March 23, PPB Chief Chuck Lovell announced that the Bureau is the midst of a large-scale hiring effort for police officers. More on this later …
This week’s shooting homicide, east of the Willamette River, was not in outer East Portland – it took place on March 20, just 4.1 miles west of our area, in the Buckman neighborhood. Nevertheless, it was a tragic loss of a life.
Early on Sunday morning, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers found this man, 40-year-old Michael Paul Fitch, deceased in the Buckman Neighborhood on SE Washington Street near 9th Avenue. Family photo via PPB
If you have information about this incident, please contact Detective Steve Gandy at Stephen.Gandy@portlandoregon.gov or Detective Jeff Pontius at Jeffery.Pontius@portlandoregon.gov 503-823-0433 and reference Case No. 22-74607.
March 24
Shooting closes down SE 82nd Avenue of Roses, in Lents
For hours, traffic is diverted away from SE 82nd Avenue of Roses, just north of Holgate Boulevard, after the back and passenger side of a Mercedes-Benz C350 sedan was found there riddled with bullets.
At 8:19 p.m. Thursday evening, March 24, PPB officers were dispatched to the intersection of SE 82nd Avenue of Roses at Holgate Boulevard concerning a “Shooting-with Weapon”.
Within minutes, twelve police units filled the highway that divides the Foster-Powell neighborhood from Lents.
Here, apparently where the shooting started, markers litter the street near an officer who is safeguarding the “evidence of shooting”.
Numerous spent bullet shell casings had been found by arriving officers, each one indicated by a yellow evidence marker. One was in the Walgreen’s parking lot driveway, and others were near the curb and outside lanes of southbound 82nd Avenue of Roses just south of SE Cora Street – on the Foster-Powell side of the street.
This Mercedes-Benz C350 was clearly the target of the shooter.
The bullet-hole-riddled Mercedes-Benz C350 had stopped, facing southbound, in the far east northbound lane of 82nd Avenue of Roses, in front of the Starbucks at Eastport Plaza – on the Lents neighborhood side of the highway. For some reason, the Mercedes’ front airbag had deployed.
Bullet holes in this late-model Mercedes-Benz are marked with evidence stickers.
A PPB Forensics “crime scene investigator” takes photos of bullet holes in the side of the Mercedes.
Before a PPB Criminalist arrived to take photos, officers tagged with an evidence markers the numerous bullet holes in vehicle’s rear window, back end, and rear passenger’s side. Apparently, one of the bullets flattened the rear tire on that side.
At the scene, an officer told East Portland News, speaking unofficially, that somehow no one had been killed in this intense street shooting.
The shooting victim is being medically evaluated in inside this ambulance, parked near the crime scene.
Another officer at the scene suggested that a person in the Mercedes had sustained non- life-threatening injuries, and, after treatment by a paramedic, had actually declined to be taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation.
Watch as this shooting investigation takes place:
No further information about this incident has been made available by the Portland Police Public Information Office. If you have information about this incident, refer to Case No. 22-79288.
Daytime shootings continue
March 24
Car-to-car daytime shooting in Powellhurst-Gilbert
At the northern edge of the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood, on the afternoon of March 24, officers block traffic on eastbound SE Division Street, just east of the I-205 Freeway, to investigate another daytime shooting.
Brazen daytime shootings, including drive-by assaults and vehicle-to-vehicle shootouts, are taking place with alarming frequency.
For example, PPB officers were called to SE Division Street, just east of SE 98th Avenue, at 3:03 p.m. on March 24 to look into a shooting at that location.
In the eastbound lanes of SE Division Street, officers examine spent bullet casings, here marked with yellow evidence markers, after a daytime shootout takes place.
At least seven shots had been fired. A PPB sergeant told East Portland News that it was likely a vehicle-to-vehicle shooting. “Vehicles drove off; if someone was wounded, they’ll be a ‘walk-in’ at a local hospital.”
No further information about this incident is available from Portland Police. If you have information about this incident, refer to Case No. 22-79024.
March 22
In Lents, another daytime shooting
After gathering evidence, officers here confer with each other in the Lents neighborhood.
A shooting call sent seven PPB East Precinct officers to SE 87th Avenue, near Ellis Street and just north of Foster Road, in Lents Town Center.
Officers found “evidence of shooting”, but did not provide more details. No further information about this incident is yet available from the Portland Police. If you can provide a tip to investigators about this incident, refer to Case No. 22-76951.
March 19
Another daytime shooting, in Centennial
An ambulance rolls up to the scene of a reported daytime shooting – this one in the Centennial Community Group neighborhood.
Little is reported about a shooting on March 19, dispatched at 12:22 p.m., other than that – after officers were dispatched to the incident — medical emergency first responders were then sent to the area at 12:28 p.m. Again, no further information about this incident is yet available from the Portland Police.
Know something? Please help out by providing information; refer to Case No. 22-73895.
If you can provided any information about these incidents, or any of the ‘Shots Fired” calls, please email them to crimetips@portlandoregon.gov, and include the Case Number.
Guns recovered after crash
This is the wreckage officers observed, after a vehicle plowed into the back of a parked flat-bed tow truck along SE 122nd Avenue, across the street from the old David Douglas School District Administrative Offices. PPB image
Although they’d learned about a severe vehicle-into-parked-truck crash along SE 122nd Avenue near Woodward Place in the early hours of March 18, PPB East Precinct officers were too busy on other calls to respond immediately, when dispatched at 2:09 a.m.
But when officers did get there, they met Portland Fire & Rescue and ambulance paramedics who were attempting to extricate the driver of a 2005 Nissan Armada which had veered into the back of a flatbed tow truck.
Officers find more than a crash victim; they were alerted to these two guns in the car, including a rifle and handgun, as well as multiple ammo magazines, including a drum magazine. PPB image
The driver was taken to a local hospital by ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries, where officers conducted a DUII investigation.
21-year-old Angel A. Ramirez-Espinoza of Portland was not booked into jail. Instead, he was served with a criminal citation for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (Alcohol), Reckless Driving, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and Unlawful Possession of a Loaded Firearm in Public.
PPB mounts hiring push
According to a PPB press release dispatched on March 23, Portland Police Bureau Chief Chuck Lovell announced that the agency, “Is in the midst of a large-scale hiring effort for police officers”.
PPB Chief Chuck Lovell acknowledges that his bureau is woefully lacking in sworn police officers.
As Lovell pointed out last week [CLICK HERE], the PPB is running greatly short-staffed, with 777 sworn police officers serving, but is authorized to have 882 – which is still about a third less than a city our size should have.
“This is a defining time in public safety, and in the City of Portland,” said Chief Chuck Lovell. “We have been hiring – but now, with some enhancements, we are able to increase this process, and bring on the next generation of police officers.”
As part of this new hiring effort, the Bureau hired seven background investigators on March 17, added staff to the PPB Personnel Division, and is re-launching its hiring website, adding social media, and updating recruitment materials.
The Portland Police Bureau offers the highest pay in the state, he said. Currently, the entry level wage is $75,675, with a hiring bonus.
~ SHOTS FIRED LOG ~
The total this week has rebounded up to 46 “Shots Fired” calls across our greater area – up from a lull of 26 such calls dispatched last week. (Not all of these calls lead to officers actually finding “evidence of shooting”, or a victim.)
March 16
22-71153 03/16/2022 19:05:57 SE FLAVEL ST / SE 85TH AVE
22-71176 03/16/2022 19:32:56 15700 Block of NE FARGO CT
22-71216 03/16/2022 20:13:06 17800 Block of NE MARINE DR
March 17
22-71548 03/17/2022 04:22:13 13000 Block of SE POWELL BLVD
22-71580 03/17/2022 06:00:24 6600 Block of NE HANCOCK CT
22-71772 03/17/2022 10:33:09 4300 Block of NE 112TH AVE
22-71789 03/17/2022 10:52:34 3400 Block of SE 174TH AVE
22-72408 03/17/2022 23:04:05 4100 Block of NE 130TH PL
March 18
22-72475 03/18/2022 00:47:50 11200 Block of SE DIVISION ST
22-72493 03/18/2022 01:49:54 10700 Block of NE WEIDLER ST
22-72544 03/18/2022 03:20:12 NE 110TH AVE / NE WYGANT ST
22-72560 03/18/2022 03:47:49 4000 Block of SE 116TH AVE
22-73319 03/18/2022 21:16:58 12700 Block of NE WHITAKER WAY
22-73340 03/18/2022 21:58:35 NE FREMONT ST / NE 119TH AVE
March 19
22-10007 03/19/2022 01:22:25 17300 Block of NE GLISAN ST
22-73775 03/19/2022 09:36:47 2800 Block of NE ROCKY BUTTE RD
22-73838 03/19/2022 10:57:52 8400 Block of SE LAMBERT ST
22-73895 03/19/2022 12:22:36 SE 148TH AVE / SE TAGGART ST
22-74367 03/19/2022 23:18:14 NE 82ND AVE / NE SACRAMENTO ST
22-74369 03/19/2022 23:22:26 15800 Block of SE STARK ST
March 20
22-74412 03/20/2022 00:09:01 15100 Block of SE LINCOLN ST
22-74463 03/20/2022 01:35:51 13000 Block of NE PRESCOTT DR
22-74481 03/20/2022 01:53:12 SE 52ND AVE / SE DIVISION ST
22-74509 03/20/2022 02:50:01 7600 Block of SE LINCOLN ST
22-74521 03/20/2022 03:56:19 700 Block of NE 81ST AVE
22-74550 03/20/2022 04:21:02 2200 Block of NE 102ND AVE
22-74567 03/20/2022 05:08:48 4800 Block of NE 86TH AVE
22-74822 03/20/2022 13:10:31 SE 162ND AVE / SE DIVISION ST
22-75237 03/20/2022 21:50:49 NE 99TH AVE / NE GLISAN ST
22-75288 03/20/2022 22:54:29 NE 95TH PL / NE THOMPSON ST
22-75311 03/20/2022 23:22:59 SE 72ND AVE / SE KNIGHT ST
March 21
22-75411 03/21/2022 02:22:34 1100 Block of SE 135TH AVE
22-75932 03/21/2022 14:14:42 8900 Block of SE REEDWAY ST
22-10423 03/21/2022 23:53:12 17000 Block of SE STARK ST
March 22
22-76454 03/22/2022 01:56:09 SE 112TH AVE / SE DIVISION ST
22-76939 03/22/2022 14:36:44 8400 Block of SE LAMBERT ST
22-76951 03/22/2022 14:49:13 6300 Block of SE 88TH AVE
22-76990 03/22/2022 15:43:17 00 Block of SE 127TH AVE
22-77246 03/22/2022 20:55:34 3600 Block of NE 147TH AVE
22-77254 03/22/2022 21:02:56 3200 Block of SE 136TH AVE
22-77345 03/22/2022 22:46:52 NE 82ND AVE / NE BEECH ST
March 23
22-77421 03/23/2022 00:52:46 16000 Block of SE ALDER ST
22-77456 03/23/2022 02:15:46 SE 112TH AVE / SE POWELL BLVD
22-77477 03/23/2022 03:09:46 00 Block of SE 127TH AVE
22-77798 03/23/2022 11:07:44 3300 Block of NE 57TH AVE
22-77838 03/23/2022 11:45:41 SE 97TH AVE / SE GLENWOOD ST
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When the Portland Police Bureau is able to recruit more officers, this may lead to a reduction in shooting violence in the Rose City. One can only hope.
© 2022 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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