Quanice Hayes’ mother, Venus, spoke at a vigil for her son Sunday night:
The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) identified the two people shot by officers in separate incidents yesterday—17 year old Quanice Hayes (killed) and 56-year-old Don Perkins (wounded)—and the three officers that pulled the trigger.
Both of the people shot yesterday had replica handguns, the police announced today: “It would be extremely difficult for anybody in a moment’s notice to know they were not real firearms,” said Police Chief Mike Marshman:
The three officers are on paid administrative leave, as is standard procedure, and the the incidents will go before a grand jury to determine if the officers will be legally cleared as well as the Police Review Board to determine if the shootings were within bureau policy.
Shooting #1, Northeast Portland: Quanice Derrick Hayes, 17, dead.
Portland police officer Andrew Hearst shot and killed Quanice Hayes yesterday morning in Northeast Portland. Hayes, the PPB said, was a suspect in an armed robbery just after 7 a.m. near the Value Inn. A couple hours later, bureau spokesperson Sgt. Pete Simpson said yesterday, “officers encountered that suspect again” nearby and during that encounter officers fired shots that struck and killed the suspect… There is a handgun that has been found at the scene that we believe is connected to the suspect.”
That handgun, PPB said this afternoon, was a replica.
“I’m not assigning blame, and I’m not making a judgement today” before all the facts are known, said Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who acknowledged the “deep historical wounds” of police shooting young people of color. “I can’t stand here and not acknowledge that the man who is deceased is a young African American male… This is a tragedy for everybody involved.”
Officer Andrew Hearst, the seven-year bureau veteran who fired the shots that killed Hayes, was one of the officers who shot and killed a man named Merle Hatch in 2013.
Hayes, who is listed on the states missing children/adults clearinghouse, had apparently been in some legal trouble before—the photo the PPB released today was a booking photo from a previous arrest (his juvenile records aren’t available). On Facebook, where he went by the name “Quzzy Finesse,” friends and relatives expressed grief at the young man’s passing.
“Dont tell me my bro gone plz dont Quzzy Finesse,” wrote one person after news of the police shooting broke and word spread that it was Hayes. “Plz bro somebody plz bro.”
“My heart goes out, to the family of Quzzy Finesse my prayers are with you all,” wrote another. “I remember the first time I met this little kid he was only 6 yrs old. I had heard so much about this little kid and was dying to meet him. My first encounter with him, I feel in love with him he was such a sweety. Always respectful and happy with a smile. I’m truly going to miss him not that I seen him everyday. But whenever I did he would always make me smile. For God allows none of his children to suffer he saw a better place for this young man with him. Quzzy you have earned your wing. No more worries, pain or suffering of any kind you are at peace. You will always be in my heart. May your soul RIP.”
Shooting #2, Southeast Portland: Don Allan Perkins, 56, wounded.
Police officers Roger Walsh and Bradley Clark shot 56-year-old Don Perkins on Thursday evening on the 3300 block of SE 22nd. He’s currently in the hospital and is expected to survive, the police said.
The PPB said at a press conference this afternoon that Perkins had called 911 and said he was suicidal and taking pills while driving around Southeast Portland. They found him at 7:15 p.m., 45 minutes after the call.
“Officers, including an Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team (ECIT) officer, contacted the man and began to communicate with him,” the PPB said this afternoon. “During the contact with the man, the officers developed information that he possessed a handgun. As officers were attempting to continue communication, the man exited the vehicle and had an encounter with the officers that resulted in two officers firing shots that struck him.”
Like Hayes, Perkins’ gun was also fake. The bureau couldn’t say whether or not Perkins pointed the replica gun at the officers before they shot him.
“Immediately after the shooting, officers quickly developed a plan to safely approach him and render medical aid,” the bureau said. “The officers provided medical aid to the man until medical personnel arrived and transported him by ambulance to a Portland hospital, where he is presently in critical condition.”
Officer Clark, one of the officers who shot Perkins, previously used an AR-15 to shoot a man in 2010.
Cops know they can ‘get away’ with and are protected in court for shooting someone if they have any justifiable cause such as someone having a fake gun or a past criminal record. It makes a lot of sense that Clark would shoot someone again, since he clearly got away with it once.
Wheeler acts as though Marshaman and him are long lost brothers and Portland Police can do no wrog against minorities. He has expressed a lot of over the top praise of PPB and public condemnation of minorities who have run inns with law while not raising any issue with whites who break the law, or are criminal or violent. Wheelers ideology is not so different from white nationalist. He has a bigger vocabulary than Hales and has learned through years of practice in an elected office as treasurer to be somewhat careful with public relations, whereas Hales was as blunt as human being could possibly be. One thing Hales often, repeatedly boasted of was that no one got shot or killed by PPB under his mayorship- or something to that extent. I never dreamed I would say I thought Hales did a good job, in some areas, as mayor but after watching what Wheeler has done in less than two months.. Hales mayorship’, to my surprise, is starting to look good.
Funny how the black teenager is shot and killed but the white man is only wounded and officers report rushing to perform life saving first aid, ultimately saving the life of an old, repeat offender, while the 17 year old has his life truncated because the cops are too scared of a black man…
Wait, that’s not funny at all.
The white guy was having a mental breakdown and the cops were responding to a mental crisis call. they made contact with him before they realized he had a gun. the kid had just robbed a few people at gun point and the cops were aware of the gun beforehand. it’s not just because he was black. he made mistakes that put him in that situation. the cops thought the guns were real and had to behave accordingly. the white guy was just lucky that his bullet wasnt lethal
So, based on the information that is found in this article, you were able to solve the crime and determine the guilt of the teenager who was shot and killed?
Or is it another case of another closet bigot who thinks all black people are guilty, regardless of truth?
I only read where the cops gave a VERY generalized description of the person they were looking for. I guess matching a description equals guilt when you’re a person of color, right?