Portland police release body camera footage from September officer-involved shooting

Editor’s note: Details in this story may be disturbing for some readers.

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — The Portland Police Bureau has released body camera footage of an incident in which a man suspected of being involved in several armed robberies was shot and injured last month.

The video sheds new light on the events leading up to the shooting, including showing the exchange of gunfire that happened. The involved officers were also identified.

On Monday, 24-year-old Jesse James West was released from the hospital and booked into jail, accused of first-degree attempted murder and other charges. This came after police shot West during an arrest attempt in Northeast Portland last month.

Up until now, Portland police only said an “exchange of gunfire” happened during the incident on Sept. 26 . But they did not make it explicitly clear whether the suspect actually fired his weapon at the time.

On Thursday, Portland police released a narrated video showing body-cam footage from officers from the day of the shooting.

The narrator explains that police attempted to arrest West at around 6:20 p.m. on Sept. 26 in the 7000 block of Northeast 17th Avenue.

Police say PPB’s Special Emergency Reaction Team blocked West’s vehicle with police cars. West tried to free himself but was unsuccessful. As SERT officers commanded West to put up his hands, one of the officers fired three “less lethal sponge projectiles,” the video says.

Officials say this was done to shoot through the tinted rear passenger window in order for officers to see the suspect in his car and to be able to better communicate with him.

Just as the officer fired the third round of the sponge projectile, the suspect allegedly fired six rounds at SERT officers. Three SERT officers then returned fire with deadly force.

The video shows body-cam footage from multiple perspectives. It also shows officers shooting the less-lethal sponge rounds and then using deadly rounds. A barrage of gunfire could be heard in the video, from multiple perspectives, though the source is sometimes offscreen. The suspect’s car window can also be seen shattering through the course of the exchange of gunfire.

PPB also released the names of the involved officers, the ones who used deadly force with guns that resulted in the suspect being injured. They specified how many rounds each officer shot off, though it’s unclear how many of them actually made contact with the suspect.

The involved SERT officers were identified as:

• Officer Brett Emmons – Fired four lethal rounds
• Officer Joshua Faris – Fired 11 lethal rounds
• Officer Matthew Wells – Fired 14 lethal rounds

Police said West was suspected of being involved with a series of armed robberies when officers tried to rest him. They also said he was reportedly armed with an AR-style rifle and had access to a second firearm. Police also previously released a photo of a semiautomatic handgun they said was “used by the suspect,” which was recovered after the scene following the shooting.

The involved officers have all been placed on administrative leave, per standard protocol, and the investigation remains ongoing, officials said.

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