Three Portland police officers who fatally shot a suspected gunman in last month’s Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital shooting and lockdown have been identified.
Officers Justin Thurman, Timothy Hoerauf and Seth Wingfield opened fire on 33-year-old PoniaX Kane Calles, formerly known as Reginal Kane Jackson, after a chase that ended in Gresham Saturday, July 22.
The incident marked the second officer-involved shooting of 2023 and the second fatality by police. Portland Police Bureau (PPB) released the names of the officers Aug. 6.
Officer Thurman has been with PPB 16 years and is assigned to the bureau’s East Precinct. Officer Hoerauf has 12 years with PPB and is part of Specialized Resources Division, while Officer Wingfield has been with PPB seven years and currently works in the North Precinct.
Each officer is still on administrative leave while the incident is investigated by the East County Major Crimes Team and the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.
The PPB officers were among a team of law enforcement that responded after a man reportedly made “physical threats to staff” at Legacy Good Sam Hospital in Northwest Portland, then shot a security guard and fled on a moped. The guard, 44-year-old Bobby Smallwood, died shortly afterward. The hospital was placed on lockdown, with an active shooter alert being sent to hospital staff advising them to run and hide for safety.
As previously reported, police initially searched for Calles in a nearby Fred Meyer, after a tip claimed someone matching the suspect’s description had gone there, but security camera footage showed otherwise.
A sergeant with PPB’s East Precinct began searching possible locations Calles might flee to, based on his extensive criminal history. The sergeant spotted the suspect hiding in some bushes near Northeast 138th Avenue and Northeast Sandy Boulevard, then alerted other officers and requested backup.
“The sergeant sees the suspect get into the passenger seat of what appears to be a white Ford van or ambulance,” police recounted in a summary of events from that day. “The van drives off. The sergeant follows the van, giving updates until it is eventually stopped at Northeast 181st Avenue and Northeast Everett Court in Gresham.”
Northeast 138th and Sandy Boulevard, and where he was confronted and shot by police.
It’s unclear what prompted all three officers to open fire on the suspect, or whether the suspect presented a weapon when confronted by police.
“As part of the use of force review process, the Bureau will conduct an internal review of the entire incident, including the initial response, resources requested, tactics used, and post shooting actions,” police stated in a news release.
PPB withheld the names of involved officers until 15 days after the use of deadly force, breaking with PPB’s policy of releasing that information within 24 hours. That policy was unilaterally implemented by Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell last year, despite directives that call for new policies to undergo public review before implementation.
In late 2022, Lovell cited an incident earlier that year that posed “security threats” to officers following a shooting as justification for the policy. The bureau never provided evidence of those threats.
In addition to the Major Crimes Team and the D.A.’s Office investigations, the incident will undergo review by the city’s Police Review Board (PRB)—a board of appointed community members, PPB employees, and members of the Independent Police Review Division.
