Portland police officers are searching for a man whom they believe struck an officer with a stolen truck on Christmas Eve, then drove away.
Dahlen, 24, escaped from a holding cell at the PPB Central Precinct. He has not been found.Portland Police Bureau
Around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, officers discovered David Dahlen, 24, had escaped from the holding cell at the police bureau’s Central Precinct, where they had booked him about four hours earlier. Dahlen is suspected of striking Portland Police Officer Jennifer Pierce, who was hospitalized with a fractured pelvis, according to the bureau.
Portland Police Spokesman Kevin Allen said officers have not yet figured out how Dahlen escaped, and will look at that after he is found. Allen said after precinct staff discovered he had escaped, they secured the building, and surveillance video showed Dahlen running north from the precinct. As of 8:30 p.m., officers had not yet found Dahlen.
Allen said this manner of escape was “unprecedented” in the bureau’s recent history.
He said the holding cell is a temporary locking room in the police station. The jail cells in the Multnomah County Detention Center are more formal and have corrections deputies, he said.
Dahlen was arrested earlier Saturday on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer. On Dec. 24, officers responded to reports of a stolen pickup truck at a 76 gas station on Southeast Powell and Cesar Chavez boulevards. When officers tried to box in the truck, the driver, later identified as Dahlen, rammed into Pierce, who was standing outside of her car. According to police, Pierce was pinned between two vehicles, and then Dahlen backed up and drove forward, striking her again. Witnesses at the scene said Pierce fired her gun at the truck after she was struck a second time.
Police found Dahlen about an hour after the incident.
The pickup was stolen from a Southeast Portland auto shop on Monday. The owner and his girlfriend were finishing up holiday shopping when a friend spotted their truck on Southeast Powell Boulevard. They alerted police and arrived at the 76 gas station when the police encounter occurred.
An investigation is underway, and investigators plan to examine the gas station’s videotaped security footage to help identify those who were riding in the stolen truck.
A witness’ video obtained by KOIN 6 captured the stolen pickup ramming the driver’s side of a marked patrol car and pushing it forward before driving out of the gas station’s lot. The driver’s door of the police car was open at the time it was struck by the stolen truck.
Reporters Maxine Bernstein and Catalina Gaitán contributed to this story.
-Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR
"center" - Google News
January 03, 2021 at 12:34PM
https://ift.tt/3o8uG24
Man accused of striking Portland officer escapes from Justice Center cell, drawing huge police response - OregonLive
"center" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3bUHym8
https://ift.tt/2zR6ugj
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Man accused of striking Portland officer escapes from Justice Center cell, drawing huge police response - OregonLive"
Post a Comment