Investigations are currently underway following two officer-involved shootings by the Portland Police Bureau, both involving suspects carrying replica firearms. These incidents have resulted in the death of a black teenager and left a 56-year-old white man recovering from gunshot wounds.
The first incident involved 17-year-old Quanice Derrick Hayes, who was identified by Portland police as a robbery suspect. According to a police release, officers responded to a report of an armed robbery near a Northeast Portland motel on Thursday morning. Hayes allegedly used a handgun to rob a man sitting in his car near the motel. When police later encountered Hayes near the Banfield Pet Hospital, he fled. After a search of the nearby neighborhood, officers encountered Hayes again, and an officer shot and killed him. Despite attempts to deliver medical aid, Hayes was pronounced dead at the scene. A handgun found near Hayes was later identified as a “realistic-looking replica firearm.” This shooting occurred approximately two hours after the initial robbery report.
Later that same day, officers responded to a report of a man in a vehicle threatening to kill himself in Southeast Portland. The man, identified as 56-year-old Don Allan Perkins, was found to have a handgun, which was later identified as another “realistic-looking replica firearm.” After an exchange with officers, Perkins exited the vehicle, and two officers fired shots, wounding him. Perkins received medical aid at the scene before being transported to a Portland hospital, where he is expected to survive. The officers involved in this shooting, Roger Walsh and Bradley Clark, have been placed on paid administrative leave pending investigation, as has Officer Andrew Hearst, who shot Hayes. Both cases are under investigation by the police bureau and will proceed to a grand jury.
In response to these incidents, the activist group Don’t Shoot Portland, aligned with Black Lives Matter, planned a press conference to call on Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Oregon Governor Kate Brown to improve policing in the city and state.
In a separate incident in Utica, New York, a 13-year-old boy named Nyah Mway was shot and killed by police after allegedly pointing a replica handgun at officers. The incident began when officers from the Crime Prevention Unit stopped two individuals as part of an undisclosed investigation. Mway allegedly fled from the officers and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at them, prompting one officer to fire a shot. Mway was transported to Wynn Hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds. Investigators later identified the weapon as a replica GLOCK 17 Gen 5 handgun. The Utica Police Department released body camera footage of the incident and stated that the New York State Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations would determine whether the shooting violated any state laws.
The press conference held by Utica Police Chief Mark Williams and Mayor Michael P. Galime was disrupted by public outcry. The police did not immediately identify the victim or the officers involved. Nyah’s uncle, Lay Htoo, expressed his family’s grief and disbelief over the incident. Htoo mentioned that his family had moved to Utica from Myanmar eight years ago and that Nyah had recently graduated from middle school.
Hundreds of people attended a community vigil in honor of Mway, where family members and community leaders spoke. The three officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave as the New York Attorney General’s Office conducts its investigation. The Utica Police Department will also conduct its own investigation and work closely with the City of Utica Public Safety Advisory Committee to ensure transparency.
In Cleveland, a 12-year-old boy named Tamir Rice was shot by police while carrying a replica gun in a playground. An officer fired two shots after Rice failed to obey an order to raise his hands. The weapon was later identified as an “airsoft” replica gun. An audio recording of the 911 call revealed that the caller had mentioned the gun was “probably a fake” and that the person holding it was “probably a juvenile.” However, the officers at the scene were not informed of these comments. Both officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, and an official investigation is underway.
Tamir’s father, Gregory Henderson, questioned why police did not use a stun gun instead of shooting his son. The incident has sparked calls for tighter controls on fake guns, with local lawmaker Alicia Reece proposing legislation to require fake guns sold in Ohio to be brightly colored. A lawyer for Rice’s family, Timothy Kucharski, stated that they would conduct their own investigation and pursue civil action if Tamir’s rights were found to be violated.
In Akron, a 15-year-old boy was shot by an Akron Police officer after a caller reported someone pointing a gun at houses. The officer found the teen near the intersection of Brittain and Ottawa roads and fired a single shot, striking the boy. The teen was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The gun was later identified as a “facsimile firearm.” The officer involved has been placed on paid leave, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations will conduct an independent investigation. Akron Mayor Shammas Malik and the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board expressed their concerns and emphasized the need for a thorough investigation.
These incidents highlight the ongoing challenges and complexities surrounding police shootings involving replica firearms. The investigations aim to provide clarity and accountability in each case, while communities continue to grapple with the impact of these tragic events.
Source: ABC News, BBC News, Cleveland.com
