Portland Police Bureau Releases Body-worn Camera Footage on Critical Incident in Portsmouth Neighborhood

News Article

The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) has released body-worn camera footage from the officer-involved shooting that occurred on August 24, 2024.

This incident marks the first in which officers were wearing body-worn cameras during a shooting. The released video includes both a narrated version and raw footage from the cameras of four officers.

"The use of body-worn cameras provides a layer of transparency and accountability that will help inform what occurred at critical incidents," said Chief Bob Day. "We want to share what we can with the community as quickly as possible, but we must balance transparency with the need for a complete and thorough investigation."

The footage can be viewed here: Body-Worn Camera Footage.

Incident Details

On August 24, 2024, at approximately 5:15 p.m., officers from the North Precinct responded to the 7600 block of North Portsmouth Avenue on reports of a man armed with a handgun and displaying erratic behavior. Upon arrival, officers were confronted by the armed individual, who yelled at them and pursued them before retreating to take cover behind vehicles in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Over the course of the next hour, the man's behavior continued to escalate, as he wielded both the handgun and a hammer at various times.

The PPB's Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) was called to the scene, and a shelter-in-place order was issued for the neighborhood. At approximately 6:04 p.m., before SERT engaged, an officer deployed a 40 mm less-lethal round. Following this, another officer used deadly force. Despite his injuries, the suspect continued to disregard commands. At approximately 6:17 p.m., a K-9 unit was deployed, and the suspect was ultimately taken into custody. He was then transported to a hospital for treatment of his injuries.

No officers were injured during the incident.

Officer and Suspect Identification

The officer involved in this incident has been identified as Nicholas Morales, a five-year veteran of PPB assigned to the North Precinct. Officer Morales remains on administrative leave as the investigation continues, following standard procedure.

The suspect, Robert D. Seeger, 52, of Portland, was injured during the incident and is currently in police custody. After receiving treatment for non-life-threatening injuries, Seeger was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on multiple charges, including Unlawful Use of a Weapon (three counts), Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Burglary, Menacing (three counts), and outstanding warrants.

Investigation and Review Process

Per PPB directives, detectives from the Portland Police Homicide Unit responded to the scene to investigate. Chief Bob Day also responded and briefed Mayor Wheeler's staff and the City Attorney's office on the situation.

Following an officer-involved shooting, the PPB conducts an internal review, examining the initial response, resources used, tactics employed, and actions taken after the shooting. The case will be reviewed by the Police Review Board (PRB), which includes community members, Bureau representatives, and officials from the Independent Police Review Division.

PPB is committed to transparency. Once the investigation and legal processes are complete, all related investigative files and grand jury transcripts will be posted on the Bureau's Open Data page. Information on previous officer-involved shootings is also available on this page.

For more details, please visit: PPB Open Data Dashboard and Deadly Force Directive.

Contact Information

Anyone with information related to this case who has not yet spoken to investigators is encouraged to contact Detective Tony Harris at [email protected] or 503-823-0441, or Detective Jeff Sharp at [email protected] or 503-823-9773. Please reference case number 24-214901.

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