PORTLAND, Ore. — A man was shot by a Portland police officer Tuesday night after officers responded to a report of an unwanted person inside the McPier Market at 600 Naito Parkway in Northwest Portland.
Police on Wednesday identified the suspect as 32-year-old Joshua Lyle Merritt. He survived the shooting and was booked into the Multnomah County jail on charges of menacing and unlawful use of a weapon.
The officer who shot him was Ofc. Craig Lehman, an 8-year veteran of the Portland Police Bureau.
No officers were hurt.
"This is a situation that no officer wants to face," said Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell, who was at the scene. "We are in the preliminary stages but will conduct a thorough investigation."
According to police, the shooting happened at around 9:52 p.m., 6 minutes after officers arrived at the convenience store, located near Northwest Naito Parkway and Ironside Terrace in Portland's Old Town neighborhood. Before officers arrived, they'd been told a man had taken food without paying and laid down on the floor of the store, refusing to leave.
Police have not released any details about what led to the shooting.
It took officers four minutes to reach Merritt, who moved further into the store after the shooting. Merritt received medical attention at the scene and was taken to the hospital.
Ofc. Lehman will remain on paid administrative leave until the investigation is complete, according to bureau policy.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, McPier Market was open for business. A neighbor to the store who wanted to be identified by his first name only told KGW that he shops at the market on a regular basis and was in the store Tuesday night about 45 minutes before the shooting incident.
"When I was in there, some guy went in, looked like he was trying to get some beer for free. And the clerk was like 'no' so he took off, so I don’t know. There’s always some stuff going on," said Justin.
Anyone who has information about this incident and hasn't been interviewed by officers is asked to contact Det. Michael Greenlee at michael.greenlee@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0871 or Det. Brad Clifton at brad.clifton@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0696.
Portland police released the following information about the investigation process:
The involved officer will be interviewed by investigators within 48 hours.
As part of the use of force review process, the Bureau will conduct an internal review of the entire incident and the case will go before the Police Review Board (PRB), which is composed of community members, Bureau members and representatives from the Independent Police Review Division.
This is an active and ongoing investigation. The Portland Police Bureau directive outlining the procedures followed after an officer involved shooting may be found at https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/article/656780
Once the entire investigation and legal process is complete, the investigative files and any grand jury transcripts will be posted on the Bureau's Open Data page and can be found here: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/52175
.