Officer Shoots Wrong Man During Scuffle

Sat., Nov. 23, 1996

From Staff And Wire Reports

A Portland police officer shot a man who was found beating an intruder in the man’s home early Friday.

The 28-year-old man who was shot was in critical condition at University Hospital.

The 23-year-old intruder was treated at Portland Adventist Medical Center and released and probably would be charged for breaking into the house, officers said.

The intruder broke a plate glass window and forced his way into the house in southeast Portland after giving a woman who lived there a ride home from a strip club, police said.

Once inside, he got into a fight with the 28-year-old man, who disarmed him of a .45 caliber pistol. He was beating the intruder in the head with the weapon when police arrived.

The woman had called 911 and reported that a man with a gun had broken into her house.

The officer likely didn’t realize the man with the gun lived at the house and wasn’t the intruder, said police spokesman Lt. Cliff Madison.

“It comes down to an officer trying to save a guy’s life, not knowing who’s who,” Madison said.

Names of those involved were not being released.

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