We don’t know why the alleged murderer shot a man in the head – with a witness present. But, we do know that then greeting the police with a gun in hand is a very bad idea …
Throughout the night – and most of the next day – NE Glisan Street was closed to traffic for blocks west of the I-205 freeway, as police tried to unravel both a murder and an officer-involved shooting.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
You wouldn’t notice the house at 9124 NE Glisan Street if you drove past it – other than that the weeds in front of it are knee-high, nearly obscuring a realtor’s “for sale” sign posted near the street.
But, this house became the scene of two deaths – and a fire – on May 13.
The bizarre incident started when a woman called 9-1-1 at 8:26 p.m., reporting she had just witnessed a murder.
Police approached the house cautiously. They spotted a 27-year-old man, later identified as Jason Spoor, walking outside, and then quickly running back indoors.
Police investigators brought all their gear in to process this crime scene.
Comes out, gun in hand
The officers called for backup when, several minutes later, they saw Spoor reappear in the doorway.
“When he opened the front door,” reported Portland Police Bureau spokesman Sgt. Brian Schmautz, “he walked outside holding a handgun.”
Based upon officers’ statements, and confirmation by independent witnesses, said Schmautz, the officers repeatedly told the man to drop the gun. At the same time that the officers were confronting the armed subject, other officers heard snapping and crackling sounds, and saw smoke starting to come from the house.
Inside and out, investigators and detectives gather evidence at the scene.
“The armed subject ignored the officers’ repeated commands to drop the gun, and began to approach additional officers at the scene. During the confrontation, two officers discharged their weapons, and the subject fell to the ground and died,” explained Schmautz.
Police say when they searched the house, they found this man, 29-year-old Dwayne Hampton, dead of a single gunshot wound.
After the shooting, a Portland Fire & Rescue crew rushed in and extinguished the fire inside the residence.
Officers then entered the residence and found a dead man there, whom the Multnomah County Medical Examiner identified as 29-year-old Dwayne Hampton. “The cause of death has been determined to be a single gunshot wound to the head,” Schmautz said. “Jason Spoor has been identified as the suspect in connection with this homicide.”
Two officers fired at Spoor, but only one struck and fatally wounded the man suspected of murdering the dead man found in the house.
Killed with one shot
The Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy the following day, and determined that Spoor was killed by a single gunshot to the head.
Although many media outlets have focused their attention on one officer involved in the shooting, Schmautz tells us two cops fired at Spoor.
“During the confrontation, two officers discharged their weapons,” Schmautz stated. “The officers are identified as 45-year-old Timothy Bacon, a 14-year veteran of the Police Bureau currently assigned to Southeast Precinct, and 32-year-old Officer Scott McCollister, a 7-year veteran, currently assigned to East Precinct.”
Motive still unclear
As this investigation continues, officials haven’t released information about why they suspect Spoor of killing Hampton, nor any information provided by the woman who claimed to have witnessed the murder.
© 2008 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News
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