A Portland police officer was seriously injured early Thursday when a patrol car struck him while he was searching on foot for a driver who had fled a traffic stop in Southeast Portland. The officer was taken to a hospital, and as of Friday he was still undergoing treatment, though his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
According to KOIN, officers tried to pull over a car just after 1:30 a.m. near Southeast 141st Avenue and Stark Street. The driver refused to stop and sped into a nearby apartment complex in the 14000 block of Southeast Stark Street, prompting police to call in additional officers to set up a perimeter and search the grounds, according to KPTV.
It was during that search that one officer on foot was hit by a patrol car driven by another officer working the scene. Portland Fire and Rescue and paramedics treated the injured officer at the scene before he was taken by ambulance to the hospital, the station's report notes. Police have said the suspect was never found, and no immediate arrests were made.
Chief Calls the Crash 'Frightening and Deeply Difficult'
Portland Police Bureau Chief Bob Day visited the injured officer in the hospital Friday and spoke publicly about the incident. “This was a frightening and deeply difficult incident,” Day said, per the same KOIN account.
Day also extended concern to everyone connected to the crash, saying, “Our thoughts are with the injured officer and his family as well as the officer who was driving the patrol vehicle and other officers at the scene.” Neither the injured officer nor the officer who was driving the patrol car has been publicly named.
Investigation Still Underway
The Portland Police Bureau's Major Crash Team is investigating the collision. Under bureau procedure, bureau-assigned-vehicle collisions, except certain collisions resulting from techniques defined in another directive, are reviewed by the bureau's Collision Review Board, which recommends a finding on whether a collision was preventable and submits it to the appropriate review-unit manager. Under a bureau directive, if a review unit manager finds a case preventable, that manager makes a recommendation, which can include discipline, to the Branch chief, according to a Portland.gov policy page. It is not known whether this crash has been found preventable or whether any discipline has been recommended.
Police said the search for the driver who fled the original traffic stop has not led to an arrest, and the investigation into both the pursuit and the crash remains ongoing.
