What should have been a routine stop for burgers at a Northeast Portland McDonald’s turned ugly on Thursday, when police say a man launched into a racist tirade, shoving customers and staff until officers hauled him out in handcuffs.
Court papers identify the suspect as 35-year-old Ethan Russell Leers and place the disturbance at the McDonald’s near Northeast 80th Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Witnesses recorded video of the episode, and employees told investigators the man struck and pushed multiple people inside the restaurant before police intervened.
What police say happened
According to court documents and reporting by KATU, a Hispanic man told officers that the suspect approached him outside the restaurant and demanded he do “100 burpees,” then called him a “rapist” and accused him of “taking jobs.”
An employee who stepped in reported that the suspect smacked an Asian customer in the back of the head and shoved a Hispanic man into a wall. A witness later showed police video of the encounter, backing up those accounts, according to investigators.
When officers arrested the suspect, they say he continued to hurl racial slurs and told an officer he “better have guns at home,” adding that the officer should understand because he was “white-white,” according to the same court filings.
Charges and court status
Leers was arraigned on four counts each of bias crime and harassment, and one count of disorderly conduct, court filings state, as reported by KATU.
Court records also show that a separate bias-crime case tied to Gresham has been reinstated after being dismissed earlier this year. That case alleges Leers pounded on a neighbor’s door, threw rocks that broke a window, and stole a purse. The additional counts there include allegations of criminal mischief, theft, and unlawful entry into a motor vehicle and are scheduled to move through local court calendars.
Previous cases
Leers already has a criminal history in Multnomah County. Appellate filings list multiple case numbers and aliases tied to him in earlier proceedings. The Oregon Court of Appeals reviewed State v. Leers in 2022, a decision that references Multnomah County dockets connected to the defendant. Those public court records provide context for prosecutors and defense attorneys as the new charges are handled in local courts; see Law.Justia for the appellate opinion.
What bias-crime charges mean
Oregon law classifies certain offenses as bias crimes when they are motivated in whole or in part by a victim’s protected characteristic. The offenses are codified at ORS 166.155 and ORS 166.165, and a first-degree bias crime is a Class C felony.
The Oregon Department of Justice explains that a bias motivation need only play “any role” in an offense for bias enhancements to apply, and those enhancements can change how the underlying offenses are classified. That statutory framework is what prosecutors and detectives will weigh as the case proceeds, and it can shape charging decisions in Multnomah County.
Local context
The Portland Police Bureau’s bias-crime detectives investigate incidents like this and urge victims and witnesses to report them so investigators can determine whether state law was violated, according to guidance at Portland.gov. Cases with bias elements are tracked at the state level and can trigger additional victim services and reporting requirements as prosecutors decide how to move forward.
The suspect’s case is now pending in Multnomah County court and is set to move through arraignment and pretrial hearings. Court filings will determine whether prosecutors pursue bias-crime enhancements. Hoodline will monitor the docket and update the community as new filings appear.
