Portland Police Shoot Homicide Suspect

PORTLAND  POLICE  CRIME 

By Pete Springer

Portland, OR  May 15, 2008 9:06 a.m.

Portland police responding to a homicide call shot and killed an armed man Tuesday evening in northeast Portland.  As Pete Springer reports, one of the officers who fired the shots was also involved in the controversial shooting of an unarmed woman during a traffic stop in 2003.

Police spokesman Brian Schmautz says the incident began when police arrived to speak with the woman about a homicide she witnessed.

Police say when they arrived, a man identified as Jason Spoor was coming out of the house.

Brian Schmautz: “He turns, sees the officers, then reportedly runs back into the home, he’s in the home a few minutes, and then he runs, he comes back outside and when he comes back out, he is armed with a handgun.”

Police say at this point, officers noticed smoke coming from the house as they yelled at Spoor to drop his gun.

Police say Spoor started to approach them with the gun and two officers fired at him.  Spoor died of a single gunshot to the head.

After the shooting, firefighters entered the house to put out a fire.  Inside, they discovered the dead body of another man whom they suspect was shot by Spoor.

One of the officers who fired at Spoor was Scott McCollister. He was suspended without pay from the police bureau in 2003 after killing Kendra James during a traffic stop.

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