An Oregon prosecutor announced Wednesday he would not convene a grand jury to review the actions of two Vancouver police officers involved in a Feb. 5 high-speed pursuit and shooting on two Portland freeways.
Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill also declined to ask a grand jury to review the actions of a Vancouver police sergeant who authorized officers to use deadly force to end the high-risk pursuit.
The decision follows a monthslong investigation by the Portland Police Bureau into the 10-minute pursuit that sent two Vancouver police officers and a suspect in a homicide case to the hospital, and littered Interstates 205 and 84 with dozens of bullet casings.
The incident was originally described as a shoot-out, but investigators did not find evidence that anyone in the fleeing vehicle had fired on pursuing officers.
Underhill said in his memorandum he agrees with investigators’ findings that Vancouver police Officer James Porter, Cpl. Ryan Starbuck and Sgt. Joe Graaf were “justified in their decisions to authorize and use deadly force during the dangerous high-speed pursuit.”
Vancouver Police Department spokeswoman Kim Kapp declined to comment on the findings.
The pursuit started around 7:30 p.m. when Vancouver police spotted Erkinson K. Bossy, 24, in a dark-colored pickup at an apartment complex in the 8700 block of Northeast 54th Street in Vancouver. Bossy was wanted in connection with a Jan. 22 robbery at a Kelso convenience store that left the store clerk, Kayla Chapman, 30, dead.
When police attempted to box-in the pickup, Bossy, who was originally in the passenger’s seat, hopped behind the wheel and sped off with another man, identified as Hai Nguyen, inside, Underhill’s memo states. The pickup headed east on state Highway 500 before turning south onto I-205 and driving into Portland.
Vancouver police officers Cody Esau and Porter heard the radio broadcast that officers were pursuing a fleeing murder suspect and joined the pursuit, taking the lead, according to the memo. The officers said Bossy was driving erratically at speeds of 90 to 110 mph. They heard over the radio he was armed with a handgun.
Porter, the passenger in the pursing patrol vehicle, said Bossy started to slow down and checked over his shoulder, as though he was trying to determine where to shoot. As the vehicles approached the I-84 interchange, Bossy turned his body toward them and appeared to extend his arm in their direction, according to the memo.
“Officer Porter determined he had a safe backdrop of woods and trees beyond the bending roadway and, fearing for his own safety and for the safety of his partner, fired his rifle through the windshield of the patrol vehicle at the fleeing truck,” the memo states.
Porter then saw what appeared to be gunfire coming from inside the pickup and believed Bossy was shooting at them, the memo says. Porter fired more than 40 rounds from an AR-15 style rifle at the fleeing pickup, The Oregonian previously reported, citing officers familiar with the investigation.
Believing he had been struck by gunfire, Porter directed Esau to pull over. He was not wounded, but he was covered in broken glass, which got into his eyes and mouth, according to the memo. Both officers were taken to a hospital for evaluation.
After hearing Porter’s call out of “shots fired,” Graaf authorized pursuing officers to perform a Pursuit Intervention Technique, or PIT, maneuver, the memo states.
“Sgt. Graaf believed a PIT maneuver was necessary because the pursuit was rapidly approaching downtown Portland, and he did not want to get into a shoot-out on downtown city streets or subject any other civilians to further risk of serious physical injury or death,” Underhill’s memo states.
While traveling on westbound I-84, between Northeast 33rd and Northeast 12th avenues, Starbuck took the lead and initiated the “PIT” maneuver on the fleeing pickup. Starbuck said he “saw a clear stretch of freeway lined on both sides with Jersey barriers and no other cars,” the memo says, when he decided to use his patrol vehicle to strike the rear quarter panel of the pickup.
“Due to the speeds involved, Vancouver Police Department policy classifies a PIT maneuver under these circumstances as a use of deadly force,” the memo states.
The pickup slid into the center median, then traveled across the lanes to the northern Jersey barrier, where it came to rest. Bossy jumped out of the pickup and was apparently run over by the moving vehicle. He was subsequently arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment. His passenger, Nguyen, who was not injured in the pursuit, was also arrested, according to the memo.
Portland police searched the pickup and found a firearm in a backpack sitting on the front passenger’s seat floorboard. The weapon was loaded, but it did not appear to have been fired inside the pickup. Investigators also did not find any bullet strikes on Esau and Porter’s patrol vehicle. No other firearms were located in the area, the memo says.
Bossy told investigators he never retrieved the firearm from the backpack or fired at pursuing officers. Nguyen said he held a cellphone to his head at one point and looked over his shoulder numerous times but didn’t have access to a firearm, and he didn’t see Bossy with a firearm, according to the memo.
Oregon law says law enforcement officers can use deadly physical force during an arrest when:
• The crime committed was a felony or an attempted felony involving the use or threatened imminent use of physical force against a person.
• A situation in which an officer reasonably believes the use of deadly physical force is necessary to defend them or another person from the use or threatened imminent use of deadly physical force.
• A situation in which an officer reasonably believes the crime committed was a felony or attempt to commit a felony, and under the totality of the circumstances existing at the time and place, the use of such force is necessary.
• Or, a situation in which an officer reasonably believes their life or personal safety is endangered in the particular circumstances involved.
“In this case, the evidence clearly establishes that the above described statutory authorizations for the use of deadly force by a peace officer to make an arrest apply to the officers’ decisions and conduct on 2/5/19,” the memo reads. “Furthermore, the investigation has established that no person was physically injured by Officer Porter’s gunfire, and that Bossy was injured during the PIT maneuver as a result of his own decision to jump out of the moving vehicle.”
Underhill said Bossy may be charged in Multnomah County with attempting to elude police, reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person. However, he was extradited to Cowlitz County for the more pressing homicide case.
“This office is in contact with the Cowlitz County Prosecutor’s Office, and if additional material information related to the Multnomah County case is revealed through their prosecution, this office will review it. Moreover, Multnomah County charges may be filed at any time within the applicable statutes of limitation,” Underhill’s memo states.
Kelso homicide
Bossy, who’s accused of driving the getaway car in the fatal convenience store robbery, pleaded not guilty May 2 in Cowlitz County Superior Court to first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. His trial is set for June 25, The Daily News in Longview reported.
Bossy is one of three men believed to be involved in the slaying. Nenemeny W. Ekiek, 21, and D’Anthony Leslie Williams, 19, the alleged shooter, have also been charged.
Ekiek reportedly gave Williams a hat and red bandana to wear as a disguise in the robbery-homicide. Ekiek pleaded guilty last month to first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and possession of methamphetamine, and is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 15, according to The Daily News. Williams’ trial is set for Dec. 10.
