Portland State University police officers shot and killed a man during disturbance
Portland OR July 1 2018 Portland State University police officers shot and killed a man across the street from a popular sports bar on campus early Friday morning, authorities said.
Officers from the university responded to a disturbance near the Cheerful Tortoise on Southwest Sixth Avenue just before 1:30 a.m., the Portland Police Bureau said in a news release.
After contacting people believed to be involved in the disturbance, at least one officer fired a service weapon in front of PSU’s Broadway Residence Hall on the south side of Southwest College Street, killing a suspect, Portland police and witnesses said.
Two campus officers have since been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, as is protocol for officers involved in a shooting, university spokesman Kenny Ma said early Friday afternoon.
“It sounded like a burst of firecrackers,” said Andy Hansen, 29, who was working a late-night shift in a building on the corner Southwest Sixth Avenue and College Street.
Hansen recalled hearing between six to eight gunshots followed by yelling and screaming. Within seconds, more than 10 police cars arrived on scene, said Hansen.
An unidentified woman told KPTV the campus cops had shot a guy who was trying to break up an altercation.
“It just took a turn for the worst and the good guy ended up getting shot,” the woman told the news station, which provided no additional detail or context.
Portland State University President Rahmat Shoureshi released a statement Friday afternoon regarding the incident. The PSU Board of Trustees also held an emergency executive meeting Friday afternoon to discuss the incident.
“Campus safety is our top priority at PSU,” Shoureshi wrote. “As you know, we are an urban campus, and that presents challenges. We work hard to provide an environment at PSU that is safe and welcoming.”
Portland Police are investigating the shooting, but Shoureshi said PSU will work with city police to communicate more information to the public as it becomes available.
This is the first fatal police shooting at PSU. Shoureshi said he has asked Campus Public Safety Chief Donnell Tanksley to conduct an internal assessment and evaluation of the incident alongside PSU policies and procedures.
“We know that such incidents impact all of us in the PSU community,” Shoureshi wrote, adding that support is available for the campus community through the Office of the Dean of Student Life and the Office of Human Resources.
PSU has a brief, but controversial history with arming officers.
Campus police first began carrying guns on July 1, 2015 following a 2014 Board of Trustees vote in favor of deploying some officers with guns.
The vote was a controversial one among the campus community, especially for the student group Disarm PSU.
On Friday morning, a PSU police cruiser remained parked facing the curb in front of the scene where the shooting occurred. Yellow and red police tape blocked off large sections of the street.
The Portland Police Bureau, which is investigating the deadly shooting, provided no additional information.
The names of the person killed and the officers involved in the shooting will be released at some point, Portland police said.
Homicide detective continue to interview witnesses and will review cell phone and surveillance video of the incident, Portland police said.
Anyone with information is asked to Detective Scott Broughton at 503-823-3774 or scott.broughton@portlandoregon.gov, or Detective Rico Beniga at 503-823-0457 or rico.beniga@portlandoregon.gov.
Portland State University has its own campus police force with 14 sworn officers and a chief of police, according a campus public safety chart published on the university’s website.
