PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Four years ago, Quanice Hayes was shot to death in a confrontation with Portland police who tracked the teenage armed robbery suspect to a Northeast Portland neighborhood.
On this night more than 100 people came out for a candlelight vigil at NE Schuyler and 82nd in honor of Hayes, who would have turned 22 this August. Those in attendance brought candles, signs and balloons.
“He had a family who loved him and we won’t forget,” said his uncle, Steven Hayes. “We love that people are still remembering and showing up. Remembering his name it just brings joy because I didn’t expect so many people to be here.”
Quanice, he said, “was just a young teenage boy, just in the city like everybody else. We loved him. He was not a thug.”
The Hayes family filed a lawsuit after his death against the City of Portland accusing the officer of using excessive force. After 4 years, his family said the lawsuit is still in the works but they expect to hear something soon.
“We are close to something,” Steve Hayes said. “I can’t really speak on it because of the order, but we are close to something. There’s a progression, I’ll say it that way.”
And he was grateful to all those who showed up on this anniversary.
“The community really supported our family. It’s a blessing to see all these people of different colors and creeds. They are all representing for my nephew. It’s a beautiful thing.”
The events of February 9, 2017
Quanice Hayes was 17 at the time he died. He was the suspect in an armed robbery near a Portland hotel and was shot to death by police after a series of seemingly connected crimes.
The incident began around 7 a.m. that morning when a man sleeping in his car across the street from the Portland Value Inn, 1707 NE 82nd Avenue, was robbed at gunpoint.
It ended a little more than 2 hours later with a Portland police officer shooting and killing Hayes.
After the hotel reported the robbery, police received another call from Banfield Pet Hospital about a car prowl, with a similar description of a suspect. During their search, they came upon Hayes and began to talk with him, but he ran off.
The search then tightened up in that area and a K-9 was brought in to help, police said. Not long after, a nearby residence was broken into and police searched that scene.
Around 8:45 a.m. officers cleared the house from their search. About 40 minutes later, police spotted Hayes in the 8300 block of NE Hancock.
Officer Andrew Hearst fired at Hayes, police said. The weapon recovered from the scene was determined to be a realistic-looking replica firearm.