Police ‘Welfare Check’ leads to a capture, in Powellhurst-Gilbert

Why a man was detained in handcuffs in this outer East Portland incident remains undisclosed; but the situation leaves neighbors wondering …

In the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood, Portland Police Bureau officers close in on a man who ran from them – and take him into custody.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

After a man was observed behaving suspiciously in the 13400 block of SE Holgate Boulevard on Wednesday, March 23, three Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officers were dispatched at 4:26 p.m. to investigate.

As minutes passed, more and more officers were sent in, until a total of 14 had arrived, including a PPB K9 team nearby.

“I saw a man running from (SE Holgate Boulevard, southward), along here (SE 136th Avenue), and lots of cops were following him,” remarked neighbor Dihn Tran.

Officers surround and capture a man who fled – but didn’t get far.

“A cop car pulled up on the sidewalk to cut him off; an officer jumped out and took hold of him,” Tran told East Portland News. “I didn’t see a gun, or anything like that, but officers took a lot of ‘stuff’ out of his pockets – maybe drugs.”

It appeared that the man taken into custody was the only person involved in this incident.

A neighbor across the intersection where the pursuit ended, at SE 136th Avenue and Schiller Street, told East Portland News that after the man was seated in the back of the police cruiser, he started complaining, “I’m dying; I need to go to a hospital.”

PF&R Engine 29’s firefighter/paramedics arrive to check on the subject.

It wasn’t long until Portland Fire & Rescue Gilbert Station 29’s Engine Company responded, and firefighter/paramedics began to check over the subject. Then, working its way through backed-up traffic on the narrow street, an ambulance made its way to the scene.

The subject, still in handcuffs, was helped out of the back of the patrol vehicle, and onto a gurney, and taken to a local hospital.

It is unknown if this man was under arrest, or if he had been restrained for his own safety.

The Portland Police Bureau has not yet responded to requests for more information about this incident. It is Case No. 22-78091; if you have any information to share with police, email it to crimetips@portlandoregon.gov.

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