Robert Douglas Delgado
Robert Douglas Delgado Portland Police Bureau

Portland police have identified the victim of Friday's fatal police shooting in Lents Park as 46-year-old Douglas Delgado. (According to arrest records, Douglas is Delgado's middle name. His first name is Robert.)

Delgado was a familiar face in and around Lents Park, according to neighbors.

Jennifer Fahey, who has lived in the Lents neighborhood for decades, said Delgado was homeless at the time of his death. Fahey, who knew Delgado as "Robert," would regularly offer Delgado meals, showers, and a couch to sleep on over the course of the past six years. She said he had been beat up and robbed while living outside multiple times.

"He was nice and funny and caring and always trying to make someone laugh," said Fahey.

She said she believed Delgado had some kind of untreated mental illness, one that made him especially paranoid of the police and government institutions.

"He always thought the cops were after him," Fahey told the Mercury Saturday afternoon on a phone call. "I guess he was right, in some way."

Fahey arrived at the crime scene Friday morning in a panic after hearing about the shooting.

"I don't know why, but I just have a feeling it's him," said Fahey, who spoke to the Mercury at the scene. "I saw him just a few days ago, and he seemed upset. I was worried about him."

The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) said that Delgado was carrying a gun when he was killed. Fahey said she never saw him with a gun, and can't imagine where he could have obtained one since he has no money or identification.

On Friday, she expressed her frustration with how the city and social services seem to have neglected a large number of unhoused Portlanders living in the Lents neighborhood.

"A lot of these people need help, just like anyone else," said Fahey. "But if you have mental health issues when you're homeless, no one is there to help you."

Delgado's court records show years of negative interactions with police officers and stints in jail, beginning in the early 1990s. A 2016 report by a parole officer regarding a domestic violence charge against Delgado details his inability to find stable housing or health care, and includes this prediction:

"Mr. Delgado... has substance abuse issues and mental health issues which if not addressed, he'll continue to find himself back in the criminal justice system," the report reads. "It is hopeful that upon release, he is able to reside where he has pro-social support that will assist him where his needs are."

Delgado was last arrested in December 2020 for threatening a man with a knife near SE Powell and 71st Ave.

According to a PPB press release, an autopsy report shows Delgado died at the scene from a single gunshot wound. Earlier this morning, PPB identified the officer who shot Delgado as Zachary DeLong.

The press release also clears up some confusion around Friday's shooting. Witnesses described a shirtless man blocking traffic at an intersection next to Lents Park early Friday morning who appeared to be having a mental health crisis. An ambulance arrived to treat this man shortly after. According to PPB, this 32-year-old man was not Delgado.

Not more than 20 minutes later, however, police had arrived on the scene, responding to another 911 call describing a man with a weapon in Lents Park. This call was allegedly referring to Delgado.

Delgado is the first person killed by PPB in 2021.