A late-night armed robbery at a Beaverton cannabis dispensary ended in an officer-involved shooting that left a suspect dead, police said Sunday. Officers were called just before 10 p.m. to Nectar, a shop on Southwest Hall Boulevard, where they tracked down a suspect within minutes of the initial report. During that encounter, an officer fired a weapon and the person was later pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said no one else was hurt.
According to FOX 12, the armed robbery was reported at Nectar at 8705 Southwest Hall Boulevard just before 10 p.m. Officers located a suspect a short time later, and during that contact an officer discharged a weapon. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, and investigators have not yet released the person’s name.
Major Crimes Team Takes Over the Probe
Detectives with the Washington County Major Crimes Team are leading the investigation, an interagency unit that routinely responds to officer-involved shootings and other serious violent crimes, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The team brings together detectives and forensic specialists from multiple local agencies to process crime scenes and collect digital and physical evidence.
Dispensary Robberies Have Drawn Scrutiny
Cannabis retailers around the Portland metro area keep finding themselves in the crosshairs, with repeated robberies and tense encounters that sometimes end in injuries or arrests. Earlier this year, a Beaverton-area dispensary heist left a deputy injured and highlighted the trend of targeted pot shops, as reported in a story on a deputy injured after a pot shop heist.
What Investigators Will Do Next
In the coming days, detectives are expected to pull surveillance video from the area, canvass for witnesses and review any available body-worn camera footage. Beaverton Police policy requires officers to activate body cameras during enforcement contacts, and that video can become critical evidence in use-of-force cases, according to the Beaverton Police Department.
Once the Major Crimes Team finishes its review, the findings are typically sent to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office for potential charging decisions or other action, in line with county policies. For now, officials have released few specifics and are asking anyone with information or relevant video to contact investigators through the sheriff’s office or Beaverton Police. Authorities said they will update the public as more details are confirmed. For more on how the Major Crimes Team operates and how these investigations are handled, see the county’s overview at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
