According to an amended press release from the Portland Police Bureau, a Portland police officer fatally shot Immanueal Jaquez Clark-Johnson early on Saturday morning (PPB).
According to the PPB, police believed that 30-year-old Clark-Johnson was guilty of an armed robbery that occurred on November 19 just after midnight at SE Powell Blvd. and SE Foster Rd. This is due to the fact that Clark-Johnson was operating a vehicle that matched the description of the alleged robber’s car.
PPB spotted Clark-Johnson traveling alongside Reed College on SE Steele St. and pursued the vehicle until it came to a stop in a nearby parking lot.
According to PPB’s news statement, it was unclear whether Clark-Johnson was truly stopped by police or if he parked voluntarily. What transpired after officers “attempted to contact” Clark-Johnson is not addressed by PPB.
Updated today:
"Clark-Johnson has passed away due to his injuries. An autopsy performed by the Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Clark-Johnson Died from the gunshot wound. His family has been notified of his death."
— Marc Poris (@marcporis) November 24, 2022
However, the agency records that at least one officer shot Clark-Johnson at 12:41 in the morning. According to an autopsy that PPB reviewed, Clark-Johnson was shot and died as a result.
There are still many unanswered questions regarding the shooting. PPB has not stated the rationale for the officers’ decision to shoot Clark-Johnson.
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PPB has not clarified if they have proof that Clark-Johnson committed the earlier heist or whether he was armed when he was killed. If there was anyone else in Clark-car Johnson’s when he was shot, the number of policemen who fired at him has not been made clear by the bureau. Additionally, it is unclear why the officers chose to shoot Clark-Johnson.
PPB has also chosen to suppress the names of the officers involved in this shooting, despite being compelled to do so, in a new pattern. City regulations require that the names of PPB officers involved in “deadly force” incidents like this be made public within 24 hours of the occurrence. This regulation permits an exception when there is a “credible security threat.”
In July, after police shot and killed a man who was discharging a gun in a Southeast Portland yard, PPB first brought up the security threat exception. PPB suppressed the names of the officers involved at the time due to threats of “doxing,” which is the act of disclosing a person’s home address or other personal information online in order to provoke harassment of that person and their family.
Three more PPB police opened fire on a Portlander a month later, and the bureau once more concealed their names over supposed doxing worries. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was looking into these threats at the time, according to PPB.
Since then (including Saturday), three more Portland police officers have opened fire on members of the public while having their names concealed by the police. If those cops were also under threat from a security breach, PPB has not confirmed it.
The most current PPB press statement makes no mention of the reasons why police decided not to adhere to this bureau regulation.
The incident on Saturday was the ninth time PPB officers fired at residents of Portland in 2022. The fourth victim of a Portland police officer’s gunshots this year is Clark-Johnson.
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