What began as a quiet October afternoon in Portland’s Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood turned into a tense and emotional evening when a fugitive standoff ended with officers racing to save the very suspect they had come to arrest.
On Wednesday, October 15, around 4 p.m., law enforcement officers closed roads near Southeast 72nd Avenue and Sherrett Street after being called to assist the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force in locating an armed suspect. Members of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) quickly joined the operation.
The sudden police presence surprised residents returning home from work. Many were rerouted or told to stay away from the area. One frustrated woman, mistaking the law enforcement activity for an immigration raid, confronted a CCSO sergeant near the closed intersection of S.E. 72nd Avenue and Clatsop Street, shouting that she would not “stand for ICE agents” in her neighborhood. The officer calmly reassured her that this was not an immigration operation, but rather a warrant service involving a potentially armed fugitive.
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PPB Public Information Officer Sergeant Kevin Allen confirmed that the suspect was believed to be hiding in a garage in the 7100 block of S.E. Sherrett Street. Specialized units, including the Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) and the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT), were deployed to contain the scene.
“As soon as our teams arrived, they learned the suspect had what appeared to be a handgun,” said Sgt. Allen. “We don’t want to rush situations like this. Time is one of our best tools to de-escalate.”
Throughout the late afternoon, negotiators repeatedly used a loudspeaker to call the suspect by name, urging him to surrender peacefully. Drones hovered overhead, monitoring the garage and surrounding area, while officers maintained defensive positions around the perimeter.
As daylight faded, tensions remained high. Many neighbors parked nearby watched from a distance, unable to return home. “They told me to go have dinner and come back later,” said one woman. “I did, and they’re still here. I just want to check on my dog locked up inside.”
By 7 p.m., after nearly three hours of failed negotiations, the standoff took a dramatic turn. Witnesses heard several muffled “foomp” sounds—consistent with the launch of tear gas canisters—followed by a sharp exchange of noise. Some neighbors even reported irritation in their eyes and throats as the gas drifted through the air.
According to Sgt. Allen, officers had deployed the gas after the suspect refused to come out. “Following multiple hours of crisis negotiations, the suspect continued to refuse to surrender, so officers introduced an irritant gas into the garage,” he explained.
Moments later, the situation escalated. The suspect fired several gunshots—at least one in the direction of officers—before apparently turning the weapon on himself.
“When SERT officers made entry around 7:15 p.m., they discovered that the suspect had fired shots toward police and then appeared to have shot himself,” Sgt. Allen said.
At that point, the officers’ roles shifted from enforcement to rescue. Moving quickly, they secured the weapon, rendered medical aid, and carried the wounded man out of the garage to a waiting ambulance.
“He was transported to the hospital with a life-threatening injury,” Allen confirmed. “No shots were fired by police in this incident.”
Because the suspect had fired at officers, the PPB Homicide Unit was called in to investigate, as is standard procedure in any case involving gunfire directed at law enforcement.
By 7:21 p.m., authorities issued an “all clear” for nearby residents, ending the neighborhood lockdown. Those who had been waiting for hours were finally able to return to their homes.
Though the suspect’s name was not immediately released, Sgt. Allen confirmed that he was wanted on an arrest warrant out of Washington County. “This was a criminal warrant service,” Allen emphasized. “It did not involve immigration enforcement.”
The evening’s events highlighted the unpredictable and dangerous nature of police work—and the fine line between enforcement and compassion. What began as a tactical operation to apprehend a fugitive ended as a desperate effort to save his life.
For neighbors in Brentwood-Darlington, the experience was unsettling but also revealing of the restraint and care shown by officers on the scene. “It was scary, but you could tell they were trying to keep everyone safe,” said one resident. “They didn’t storm in or make it worse.”
As the scene cleared and traffic reopened, the scent of gas still lingered in the air, along with a sobering reminder of how quickly calm can turn to crisis.
“This was an assignment to arrest a suspect with a warrant,” Sgt. Allen reflected. “It turned into a rescue mission. Our goal is always to preserve life—no matter whose it is.”
