PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN 6) – A convicted felon, known by police as a “gang associate,” is now accused of trying to kill an officer.
Nathan Davis-Thomas, 29, is charged with one count each of attempted murder, unlawful use of a weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Portland police said Davis-Thomas was stopped driving a 2003 Range Rover around 7 p.m. last Thursday near NE Garfield and Alberta.
Davis-Thomas pulled into a parking lot and parked in a disabled parking spot and started to exit his vehicle, police spokesperson Sgt. Pete Simpson said. Officer Charles Asheim, who is assigned to the Gang Enforcement Team, ordered Davis-Thomas to get back into the vehicle, court documents state. Davis-Thomas refused and appeared to be getting ready to flee, police said.
As Asheim was standing at the door, attempting to close it with Davis-Thomas inside, the 29-year-old pointed a handgun at the officer’s abdomen, Simpson said. The gun had been hidden underneath a cloth, court documents state.
“(Asheim) thought he was going to get shot and held his breath ready to embrace the impact of being shot,” Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Eric Zimmerman wrote in court documents.
The officer was able to “extend a forceful blow” to Davis-Thomas, Zimmerman wrote. Asheim then pulled out his weapon and pointed it at Davis-Thomas who threw the gun in the backseat and put his hands up.
Officers recovered the .32 caliber revolver from the backseat. Police said it was fully loaded. The passenger told police that Davis-Thomas kept saying “I’m going back to jail,” court documents state.
“This is an example of the dangers officers face as they work to stop gun violence in our city,” Chief Lawrence P. O’Dea III said in a prepared statement. “I’m thankful nobody was injured during this potentially explosive encounter.”
Davis-Thomas remains in custody and is scheduled to be arraigned next month.
He has been convicted twice of being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2014 and 2009.