PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The man shot to death Monday afternoon by Portland police was homeless, bipolar and had schizophrenia, a friend told KOIN 6 News.
Tyrone Lee told KOIN 6 News he bumped into the man — who went by the name Lane — on Tuesday near the old Safeway parking lot on NE 122nd and Glisan but Lane seemed to be experiencing a mental health crisis.
Lee said he tried to calm his friend.
“I gave him a cigarette but he wanted me to stay with him,” said Lee. “But he was going through an episode, that was all it was.”
Lee said Lane told him he was homeless and had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
It was a short time later that the man was shot and killed by the police officer.
Witness accounts
The incident began around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when a security guard reported a man with an ax was trying to break a car window near NE 122nd and Glisan. Officers arrived, confronted him and used less-lethal means to try and stop him before an officer opened fire.
The man, whose identity has not been released, died at the scene despite efforts by officers to save his life.
“I saw a man running towards people with the ax,” Timothy Allen said. “The cops followed him from down there to up here and shot him with the beanbag twice and the man kept running.”
Allen saw the man run down Ash Street and then heard more shots being fired. The man was shot in the area of Southeast 120th and Ash Street.
A witness who lives at the Ash Street Court apartments heard the man run into the courtyard.
“The guy ran right past us on Ash Street and as he ran past, he yelled ‘They are going to kill me,’” Michael said.
Witnesses said officers cornered him at the apartment complex.
Portland police said Officer Gary Doran, a 12-year veteran of PPB is the one who used deadly force. Acting Sergeant David Kemple, a 17-year veteran and Nicholas Bianchini, a 10-year veteran, used less-lethal force.
Members of PPB’s Behavioral Health Unit were at the scene.
An internal Portland Police Bureau review is underway. As the investigation continues, the case will also go before the Police Review Board.