Residents in Northeast Portland’s Eliot neighborhood were told to lock their doors and stay inside Thursday night as police searched for suspects who fled a traffic stop.
A spokesperson for the police bureau said that just after 9 p.m. a north precinct officer spotted a car associated with a “recent violent crime” and tried to stop the driver near North Portsmouth and Fessenden Drive.
The driver fled, and officers pursued the car for about seven minutes until multiple suspects jumped out of the vehicle near North Shaver Street and Northeast Rodney Avenue.
Police set up a perimeter from Northeast Skidmore to Failing streets and from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Cleveland Avenue, blocking traffic entering or leaving the area.
Police used the city’s Public Alerts system to urge people living inside that area to stay inside and lock their doors. The system sends texts and emails and makes automated phone calls.
Gresham police flew their drone overhead during the search, which ended about 1 a.m.
The suspects were not found. Police did not provide details on the violent crime they’re investigating, but they said the vehicle the suspects were in turned out to be stolen. The police bureau has not publicly identified the suspects.
– Savannah Eadens; seadens@oregonian.com; 503-221-6651; @savannaheadens