Good afternoon. Thanks for joining us. Um, I am Mike Benner, public information manager here at the Portland Police Bureau. We are, of course, here to discuss the events of last night where two of our uh officers uh were shot uh while on duty. I can share that at 8:21 last night, officers assigned to our north precinct responded to the area of Northeast 21st Avenue and Northeast Clack Street. The caller uh who contacted 911 reported that a man he did not know had threatened him with a knife. Officers arrived and located the suspect on Northeast Clackamus Street between Northeast 16th Avenue and Northeast 17th Avenue. Sometime during this encounter, the suspect fired shots at the officers, striking both of them. The officers were transported to the hospital by ambulance. I can share that one officer sustained two gunshot wounds and the other sustained one. The suspect fled on foot and additional officers immediately set up a perimeter. As you know by now, a large-scale search followed, hoursl long search mind you with our special emergency reaction team, crisis negotiation team and air support unit. We used our unmanned aircraft systems unit, also known as drones, as well as a canine, but we were unable to locate the suspect and suspended the search early this morning. We did release a photo of the suspect. Here are two images right here. He appears to be a white male in his mid30s with facial hair. He was wearing a black baseball cap, black jacket over a gray hooded sweatshirt. He had black pants and black shoes. He was also seen with a black backpack. We have received numerous tips from the public and want to thank everyone for their assistance. If you live in this area, we ask that you check your security cameras if you have not been contacted by police yet. And once again, please email any tips to crimetips@ police.portlandorggon.gov. gov. And now I'd like to introduce Deputy Chief Chris Jovik. Chris spelled C H R I S and Jovic spelled G O V I K. Deputy Chief. >> Thanks, Mike. Good afternoon. Last night, two of our officers were shot while doing the work they swore an oath to do. Protect others even at great personal risk. Both of the injur in injured officers were incredibly fortunate. One inch can make all the difference when you're dealing with gunshot wounds and the outcome could have been far worse for the injured officers. It's a moment that shakes our police family to its core. It's a reminder that beyond this uniform and badge are human beings. Our officers are parents, spouses, sons, and daughters and friends within our community. They have active and meaningful lives and people who support and love them. We are beyond grateful that both officers remain in stable condition this afternoon. We are keeping them and their loved ones close to our hearts. No one should face gunfire simply for showing up to serve. I'm incredibly proud of the courage shown by our officers involved and by every member of PPB who ran to danger to help their co-workers and the community. Their bravery reflects the very best of our profession. We are incredibly appreciative of our support shown by the community. Mayor Wilson, DA Vasquez, other elected officials, and members of our law enforcement community have reached out uh in support. But lastly, I want to speak directly to the people who live and work in the SE Svin's Gulch neighborhood. I know the fear and uncertainty you're feeling right now is very real. While we haven't apprehended the suspect responsible, we want to assure you that we have dedicated homicide detectives and officers assigned to this case, and we will pursue all leads to bring this person into custody as quickly as possible. You may see an increased presence uh police presence in the area as we work to solve this case. And please know that if we had information that suggested an immediate risk to the public, we would put that information out to you for your safety. And once again, if you saw anything or have security footage of the incident, please contact us through our tipline. Thank you. And now I'd like to introduce DA Nathan Vasquez. >> Well, thank you for coming today. And first, I want to say that my thoughts are first and foremost with the two officers who were shot in the line of duty. I was shocked when I received this uh news last night. Um and I can tell you that my wife and I are so grateful that they uh survived and that they're on the path to recovery. Um the outcome is truly a testament to their strength, their teamwork to take care of fellow officers, and really the life-saving uh effort that was put forward. This is a a horrific reminder of the dangers that they face. These officers put themselves in harm's way to protect our community, our families. And what happened to them? This was a a serious act of violence that will be treated with the utmost gravity. And I'll tell you that an attack on law enforcement is an attack on the safety of this community. Our office is working closely with the investigators to ensure that the facts are thoroughly gathered and that we will pursue full accountability in the justice system. When this person is apprehended, my office will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law. To the officers and their families, you have my full support and the full support of my office. We will stand with you and we are committed to seeing this person held accountable. Thank you. >> Thank you, DA Vasquez. Uh before we open it up to Q&A, I want to address uh one of the questions that um I received numerous times today and that was how often something like this happens. I can tell you that the last time uh PBB had an officer uh shot and injured in the line of duty was August of 2021. And the last time we uh lost an officer uh to gunfire in the line of duty was January of 1998. Uh one of the follow-up questions I've been receiving is how often do our officers um come under fire and have deadly force used against them. It is numerous times uh over recent years, but we don't have those numbers readily available, but I do have someone working on that right now and can hopefully share that by uh late afternoon in time for the newscasts. Um with that, we will open up to Q&A. Please understand that like we are in the throws of it right now. We have people on the street working this case actively as we speak. So there's not a whole lot more we can share beyond what we did. But we're happy to entertain some questions. >> Where are you going to find this person? Like what's the strategy there? Give her the description. Where is that? Where what's the status there and what are the challenges there? It's good to work with. >> Yeah. I mean this is our strategy, right? We're putting out information for the public to respond to. We've received numerous tips from the area residents and from people outside of that area. So, we're following up on all of those tips, hoping we can get garner more information, more video footage, and uh bring this to arrest. >> Was there any internal gun for the police? >> There was no exchange of gunfire. >> The threat to the individual who called this in, was it done in conjunction with some kind of theft? Were they trying to steal something from them? >> I have no information regarding that. >> Are you able to go more into the officer's specific condition? and also where they were shot in. >> No, I'm not going to share that. They're crime victims at this point and we're treating them that as such. >> Are they speaking? Have either of them been released from the hospital at this time? >> They're both in stable condition at the hospital right now. >> Was there any indication when you arrived at the scene that this individual was armed with a firearm? >> No, there was no indication of that. >> Can you share how many officers responded to the scene initially and uh what precinct they were assigned to? >> Uh the members were assigned a north precinct throughout the entire event. It was a citywide response. >> So when the officers arrived, was there any exchange of words? Like was there any communication between individual and officers or what was said? >> I don't know specifically [clears throat] what is said. I've not viewed the body camera footage. That is all being handled by detectives and um these people are in, you know, medical distress at this point. So they have not been able to be interviewed. Last night, Chief Day said that the gunfire happened pretty immediately after they made contact with this suspect. Do you know how much time laps between when they made contact with >> I don't have an exact time. Sorry. >> Obviously, does this body camera uh still right? How essential is body camera in this investigation right now? It's, you know, somewhat new to the department. >> Yeah, over the last year and a half, we've had our body cameras and and this is going to be incredibly important to to closing this case. under surveillance from the area. >> We we're taking in all tips right now and we're following up on all of them. I don't have a specific number of of uh surveillance cameras that we we have. >> Do you plan to release the video as well so that folks can get a better idea of who the suspect may be? >> Yeah, this is an interesting case, right? This is these are two police officers that are victims of a very heinous crime, right? So, we have to respect their privacy as well. So, I imagine we will u we will distribute the body cam footage when it's appropriate to do so. >> And so, are there any messages from people in that community? I spoke to people today that said they're still feeling fearful. So, >> yeah, I I think I'll refer back to my my previous statement that yeah, I mean, there's no reason to think that this person doesn't still have a gun or a knife, right? If we have any specific articulable information that shows a risk to the public, we will get that information out as soon as we have it. >> Last question. >> Is it does the bureau >> does the bureau have access to a contract with a company that would employ artificial intelligence to match? No, >> that's not something that bureau would. >> No, the city doesn't doesn't allow that. Is the search still just in that boy district such as Gulch area or are you working with other agencies in other counties? >> We are taking in every lead that we possibly can and following up on each of those leads wherever they may be. >> You said that this shook your bureau to its core. What are you guys doing to support your officers at this time? >> You know, we have a very robust wellness program and EAP program. They're working overtime uh to take care of our folks. I mean, this is obviously a very shocking incident for all of us. just share how many officers question initially responded to the the threat with weapon call and which hospital these two officers were taken to. >> Uh I don't have the information that you need and I'm not going to disclose the hospital. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you everyone. As I uh shared, I will do my very best to get you those numbers uh via email later uh this afternoon in time for your newscast. Appreciate you being here and thank you uh for understanding the gravity of the situation. Thanks. [music]