PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — David Dahlen, who used a stolen pickup truck to ram a PPB patrol car and then later escaped custody, was sentenced to 8 years in prison for a variety of charges, Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt announced.
The crimes in question began on Christmas Eve 2020. On that night, police went to a gas station on SE Powell near Cesar Chavez when a stolen 1988 Chevy pickup was spotted. Two people were inside.
But the driver of the pickup rammed the police car as an officer fired her gun. She was injured by the crash and was hospitalized. The pickup took off down Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
The pickup was found about an hour later, but no one was with it.
Dahlen remained at large until January 2, 2021. He was arrested on an attempted murder charge and taken for questioning to the PPB Detective Division. But he escaped from a holding cell when a cleaning crew didn’t fully latch the door when they were done.
He remained on the loose until January 8, when the US Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force found him and arrested him. He’s been in custody since.
The DA’s Office said Dahlen, 25, pleaded guilty February 7, 2022 to 1st-degree assault, assaulting a police officer, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
He was then sentenced to 8 years in prison.