Staying cool when the heat is on

from The Oregonian

Both the Portland police and I have a track record. Far too often --Kendra James, James Jahar Perez and Jose Santos Victor Mejia Poot top the list --officers draw their weapons and shoot people. Far too caustically, from behind the protective shield of my computer, I criticize them for it.

That brings us to Officer Robert Wullbrandt. One break from tradition deserves another.

Eight days ago, Wullbrandt --a four-year veteran on patrol in Southeast Portland --watched a black Buick Regal make an unsafe pass in rush-hour traffic. He pulled the Buick over in the Trader Joe's parking lot at 39th Avenue and Schiller Street.

At 5:20 p.m., the grocery store parking lot was jammed with the usual array of kids, balloons, gnocchi fanatics and organic mangos. Wullbrandt, who didn't have the luxury of backup, approached the Buick, which contained three people ... one of whom, Nicholas Onuskanich, 24, lunged from the back seat and bolted toward 39th.

Onuskanich is hardly a beacon of junior achievement. He had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court to face charges of possessing and peddling meth and cocaine. "One of the things that's ironic," said Robert King, "is the guy didn't want to go to jail. This is Multnomah County. He wouldn't have spent more than an hour in jail."

King is the head of the Portland police union. He and Wullbrandt decided, based on the aforementioned laps around the track, that Wullbrandt would not be made available to describe what happened next.

Wullbrandt set off after Onuskanich. He had almost run him down, police say, when Onuskanich pulled out a gun, whirled and fired several shots at the officer.

"I'm not sure anyone fully appreciates or understands the impact of having someone try to murder you," King said. "If someone's shooting at me, I'm inclined to shoot back. A lot."

That's the prescription of the cops' defensive training: Eliminate the lethal threat. Don't debate; react.

But Wullbrandt didn't return fire. "Due to the amount of people in the area," the police press release said. With bullets flying past his ear, Wullbrandt calmly reasoned that commuters, shoppers and joggers in the area would be better off if he didn't empty his magazine.

I don't know if that decision saved anyone's life, save, of course, for that of Mr. Onuskanich. I do know a passing motorcyclist, Greg Geist, was awarded the police bureau's Civilian Heroism Medal after he spotted Onuskanich entering an apartment in the 4000 block of Southeast Holgate and directed police to the fugitive's hiding place.

Onuskanich surrendered several hours later. He has been charged with attempted aggravated murder. And there's reason to believe he will spend more than one hour in jail.

Wullbrandt? I assume he's back on patrol. And I understand why he's not inclined to discuss what happened when a routine traffic stop turned potentially deadly. When that happens, King argued after Officer Jason Sery shot and killed James Jahar Perez, "when we have to make that ultimate split-second decision, we don't just ask for your understanding, we ask for your support."

Those are the rules. That is the code. And that's why I salute Wullbrandt, for understanding he was in a neighborhood, not on a battlefield. He just convinced me some cops understand the citizens of Oregon want the police who confront the Kendra Jameses and Lukus Glenns to accept a little more risk if that's what it takes to save a few lives.

His coolness under fire may leave other officers annoyed, waiting for the day when similar caution gets a cop killed, but it has this columnist applauding.

By Steve Duin: 503-221-8597