A man chased by Portland police and arrested after he bolted a car during a traffic stop died at Adventist Medical Center early this morning, police officials said this afternoon.
The man, who was not identified, was a passenger in a car pulled over because a taillight was burned out, according to a police statement. He ran off after police figured out he didn’t give them his real name—with police, during the hunt for the man, learning he had an outstanding felony warrant. Update July 11: The O reports the man has been identified as Darris Johnson, 26, of Portland.
The chase was pretty physical, with several fences jumped. And when cops finally caught up with the man, hiding behind a house, he reportedly turned himself in peacefully. “The suspect cooperated with commands and was taken into custody without incident and without the use of any force,” the statement says.
Then, when the guy was in the back of the car, something happened:
The suspect indicated that he was having trouble breathing which is not unusual after a foot pursuit. Officers noticed that he was talking continuously and his breathing was not labored. Officers began to transport the suspect and monitor him as they are trained to. At some point during the transport they noticed a change in his condition. Officers stopped the police car, took off the handcuffs, called for an ambulance and immediately began CPR. Officers continued CPR until relieved by Portland Fire Bureau Personnel.
Two hours later, the man died of a possible heart attack after some kind of a “medical complication,” and tests showed he may have had meth and pot in his system.
Read the full release after the jump:
Posted: July 10th, 2011 2:45 PM
Today Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 4:08 a.m. Portland Police officers assigned to East Precinct made a traffic stop of a 1988 Cadillac at Southeast 122nd and Bush for defective equipment, no taillight. The vehicle had 4 occupants. In addition to the driver there was a front seat passenger and two passengers in the back seat. Officers made contact with the driver and observed that the left rear passenger was not wearing a seatbelt. Officers obtained the identification of the driver and the left rear passenger and conducted a routine computer check. The computer check revealed that the driver did not have insurance on the vehicle.
Once officers had this information they re-approached the vehicle intending to cite the driver for no insurance and arrest the back seat passenger for furnishing false information to a police officer. When officers approached the car the left rear passenger ran from the vehicle. Officers briefly pursued the suspect on foot. Officers immediately established a perimeter and called for a canine. The police canine arrived and officers began to search the area for the suspect. As officers were pursuing the suspect the police dispatcher indicated the suspect had a felony arrest warrant for parole violation for dangerous drugs. The suspect had run and jumped over three fences prior to being located.
Officers observed the suspect hiding behind a house. Intending to arrest the suspect on the outstanding felony arrest warrant officers verbally challenged the suspect. The suspect cooperated with commands and was taken into custody without incident and without the use of any force. The suspect walked without assistance to a police car and was driven from the arrest location to the initial stop location at Southeast 122nd and Bush.
The suspect indicated that he was having trouble breathing which is not unusual after a foot pursuit. Officers noticed that he was talking continuously and his breathing was not labored. Officers began to transport the suspect and monitor him as they are trained to. At some point during the transport they noticed a change in his condition. Officers stopped the police car, took off the handcuffs, called for an ambulance and immediately began CPR. Officers continued CPR until relieved by Portland Fire Bureau Personnel.
The Portland Fire paramedics and AMR ambulance arrived on scene and provided care then transported the suspect to the Portland Adventist Medical Center. The suspect arrived at Portland Adventist Medical Center at 5:59 a.m. and Medical staff informed us the suspect suffered a medical complication and was pronounced dead at 7:58 a.m. Preliminary information from Medical staff indicated the suspect tested positive for methamphetamine and marijuana and may have suffered a cardiac arrest.
As required by policy Portland Police Bureau Detectives and the Medical Examiner were notified and they responded to the scene to conduct the investigation. The Assistant Director of the Independent Police Review Division of the City Auditors Office was also notified and responded.
The investigation is continuing.
Sushi.
While officers were attempting to give CPR to the suspect he was accidentally shot with a shotgun.
Fuck. This sucks.
I’m with Rusty. Shit happens, but it sure happens a lot when the PPD are around. This ain’t Mayberry, we need some serious attention paid to “serve and protect”…
The guy might have swallowed the drugs he was holding, when they got pulled over.
@ El Stunto, Me getting run over or robbed because of shitbird parole-violating meth users happens a lot less when the PPB are around.
Until there is a single shred of non-purely-circumstantial evidence that this didn’t happen the way PPB claims, I think we ought to leave cause of death decisions to the Adventist physicians.
@ CC, how often does it happen when they aren’t around? I’m just curious about the numbers.
@ guspasho, while you’re of course right that I don’t have the luxury of a control sample, I hope you’re not prepared to take your argument to it’s logical limit – that a city with no cops would be as safe as a city with cops.
Our predictable divide is pretty boring: While I’m no great pal of cops generally, I think PPB (with some glaring exceptions) does a pretty good job almost all of the time, compared to other places I’ve lived. I’m always going to give them the benefit of the doubt unless the facts seem suspicious or new evidence is brought up, and there’s a crew of usual suspects around here who think by default the cops are lying, and should generally be considered guilty until proven otherwise.
Your comment demonstrates that last part quite well – the quantum of proof required usually can’t ever be realistically achieved, so it’s the same ol’ boring impasse.
@ CC, my argument was simply going to be that there are a lot more police shootings and dead guys in police cars when the police are around, not that there should be no police.
I know what you’re saying, that the police still do their jobs well almost all of the time, and that goes unnoticed. The police are human beings with stressful jobs and deserve the same benefit of the doubt as anyone else.
But how many times have you seen police cars tap their sirens just to run red lights?
The police are human beings who are entrusted with extraordinary power, and they will inevitably misuse it, and that’s why they should be held to a higher standard and scrutinized more closely than anyone else would be. And, while they do their jobs well most of the time it’s those few mistakes or abuses of power that, however disproportionately or unfairly, significantly erode public confidence and trust in the police.
The worst possible reaction to someone dying in police custody is to say “Sounds plausible enough to me, I don’t think we need to look in to this any further.” That’s basically saying we are willing to let the police get away with murder.
That’s my real, non-snarky argument.
Onitsuka tiger
Onitsuka tiger by asics
Onitsuka tiger shoes
Onitsuka Tiger usa
Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66
onitsuka tiger mexico 66 deluxe
onitsuka tiger mexico 66 baja
Onitsuka Tiger Mexico Mid
Runner