Police officer kills woman

A Portland police officer shot and killed a woman in her 20s early today when she got behind the wheel of a car and tried to drive off after other officers took the original driver into custody during a traffic stop, police said.

The shooting - the first officer-involved fatality this year - occurred about 2:40 a.m. in the eastbound lane of North Skidmore Street, on the Interstate 5 overpass.

A North Precinct officer pulled over a four-door, dark-blue Chevrolet Cavalier on a traffic stop. Police said today they did not know the reason for the stop. But police said the officer had taken the motorist out of the rental car and was trying to confirm the man's identity as it appeared he was carrying no proof of identification.

As the officer took the motorist into custody and led him to a police car, the woman passenger in the car climbed from a back seat into the driver's seat, according to Portland Police Bureau spokesman Sgt. Brian Schmautz.

The Tazer did not subdue the woman, said Cmdr. Jim Ferraris, head of the detective division. The other officer fired one shot from his firearm, striking the woman in the chest, police said.

The car continued east about 70 yards on North Skidmore Street, until it came to a stop, blocked by two patrol cars. The woman was taken by ambulance to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Police did not release the name of the woman shot or the three officers involved in the stop and shooting.

Portland homicide Detectives George Weatherroy and John Brooks are investigating the shooting. By late this morning, the detectives had not interviewed the three officers involved but did do a quick walk-through of the events with at least one of the officers, Schmautz said.

Investigators also were interviewing the motorist who was stopped initially and a male passenger who was in the car.

Schmautz and Ferraris said they did not know the reason for the initial traffic stop or whether the initial driver had been cited for any violations.

An initial police investigation indicated the officer fired at the woman once the car had run over an officer's foot.

State law and Police Bureau policy states that officers can use deadly force "to protect themselves or others from what they reasonably believe to be an immediate threat of death or serious physical injury."

Outside experts hired by the city are conducting a review of 27 Portland police shootings that occurred between January 1997 and July 2000. The Police Assessment Resource Center, a nonprofit agency led by Los Angeles attorney Merrick Bobb, will compare the bureau's use of deadly force, its firearms policies and training with other law enforcement agencies and will identify areas for improvement. The review is expected to be completed in July.

what exactly is a tazer?

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I'm not in the least surprised that it didn't stop her.

Police said two other North Precinct officers went to the driver's side of the vehicle and struggled with the woman "to keep her from driving away," Schmautz said. One of the officers used a Tazer against the woman.

The Tazer did not subdue the woman, said Cmdr. Jim Ferraris, head of the detective division. The other officer fired one shot from his firearm, striking the woman in the chest, police said.

"An initial police investigation indicated the officer fired at the woman once the car had run over an officer's foot."

They went to the driver's side of the vehicle and struggled with her to keep her from driving away...so apparently (and reportedly had a foot run over, not leg, no mention of being dragged.)one of the police officers put his foot in the path of the vehicle,(or the woman swerved to run over his foot..nah) on the driver's side of the vehicle, did he do that to stop her from driving away or did he remember that after she was shot dead? Close enough to get his foot run over, could he have punched her in the face or pulled her out the car? Was the window open or closed? Door locked or unlocked? Was it his left or right foot, was it the front or rear tire that ran over his foot? There were three officers there and her car was blocked 70 yards down the street by two police cars, did she have any room to get away, why were the officers cars blocking the road in front of her and when did they put them there?...In any case if his foot was run over, it appears to me she was not moving towards him but away from him. I guess she might have run over his foot again while leaving if he wasn't alert enough to get out of the way.....It will be interesting ro find out why the vehicle was stopped (and a woman killed), amazing the police don't know that yet(was PD "profiling"?)...and if there are any videos....of the 2:40 am stop...we will have to wait and see how it shakes out, might be at 2:40 am she was just drunk (high on crack?)and needed to pee real bad and just wanted to leave....on the other hand maybe she planned the whole thing to run over a police officer, reportedly she had a lengthy criminal history....and the police officer that shot her was a 2 year veteran....I'm not ready to second guess the officer, but the report had little info IMO to justify shooting someone in the chest. More info might clarify the situation...

http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=57186

deadly force Portland PD, see also from or at moving vehicle..1010.10

"A member justified in using deadly physical force, may shoot at, or from a moving vehicle if, in the totality of the situation, the additional risks are clearly outweighed by the need to use deadly physical force."

http://www.portlandpolicebureau.com/PDFs/policy.pdf

She jumped in the car? It says she was in the back seat, she moved to the front seat and began driving away. On the face of it, there was no reason for her to be murdered, she presented no threat, I would guess she wanted to go home. As far as I am concerned, she was within her rights to leave, as she was not under arrest, and was not identified as a suspect in a crime. The problem was, the cops wanted to impound the car, make everyone present their papers, and collect the percentage of towing fees they would normally receive. I guess that is reason for cold bloodied murder nowadays.

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