Chaos erupted in Rocky Butte as gunfire blasted from a pickup truck, creating a perilous scene captured by police from the sky. In a bold response, Portland officers nabbed two men following a hair-raising chase involving airborne and ground units.
It was a Tuesday night, moments past 7:00 p.m., when the East Precinct, K9, Air Support Unit (ASU), Traffic Division, and Focused Intervention Team (FIT) officers were alerted to gunshots echoing off the rocky faces of Northeast Rocky Butte Road. Police planes were already circling overhead, and, they say, captured footage of one man recklessly discharging a firearm from a moving vehicle. The pickup, attempting to flee, swerved dangerously, firing as it went, threatening the lives of residents with bullets that flew at or near their homes.
The police didn't back down, staking their ground amid chaos. They tried pulling over the rogue truck, but the driver gunned it — barreling through red lights and veering into oncoming traffic. Not to be outdone, an officer lay in wait with spike strips, their deployment taking the fight out of one of the truck’s tires (photo). Still, the chase surged on until the crippled vehicle spun out, ending at Northeast 81st Avenue at Northeast Fremont Street.
In the aftermath, Arinoldo B. Cruz-Garcia, 23, and Ahanu M. Johnson, 21, faced the music, booked on multiple charges including weapon violations and endangering the public. And amidst the crumpled paper and discarded refuse in the truck footwell, police found two black semiautomatic pistols and a bottle of booze (photos), according to a release from the Portland Police Bureau. As officers piece together the puzzle of that night's events, they urge anyone with information to come forward, to find justice in the bullet marks left in its wake.
