On Monday, Sept. 1, 2014, Denorris McClendon, 27, was shot and wounded by Officer Michael Honl (who was involved in another nonfatal shooting in 2005) after pointing a replica handgun at officers. McClendon had a mental health history, was in crisis after his mother’s death, and using methamphetamine.  The day before, he had undergone a mental health evaluation at a Portland hospital, and was placed on hold.

The articles and images below represent a close-to-comprehensive representation of media reports on the shooting (some duplicative material was excluded).

Portland Police Shoot Suspected Carjacker by I-84

ABC News, Sept. 1, 2014

A police officer shot a man who was pointing a gun at passing cars on an Interstate 84 off-ramp, and the ensuing standoff with the wounded suspect led to a long Labor Day closure of the freeway.

Sgt. Pete Simpson, spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau, said the man ran from the freeway after he was struck by a bullet, and he collapsed on a nearby street.

“Officers began talking with the man, who refused to comply with commands and indicated he wanted officers to shoot him,” Simpson said.

Police negotiators got the man to surrender, and he was taken to a hospital with an injury not considered life-threatening. Relatives of the wounded man told reporters during the standoff he has struggled with mental health issues.

The incident happened just three days after a federal judge accepted a settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and the city of Portland on reforms intended to improve the way police deal with mentally ill people. The Justice Department found during an investigation that Portland police engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force when dealing with such citizens.

Simpson said the reforms played no role in resolving Monday’s situation.

“We’ve had crisis negotiators for a lot longer than all that,” he said. “It’s pretty standard protocol.”

The drama began shortly before 10 a.m., when callers reported that a man was walking along the ramp with a gun and it appeared he was trying to carjack motorists, Simpson said.

The man pointed the gun at police and ran through freeway traffic, Simpson said. At some point, an officer fired shots and struck the man.

Police said the names of the suspect and the officer who fired will be released Tuesday.

Police closed the section of freeway during the standoff and investigation, complicating travel plans on the busy holiday. The freeway reopened at about 2 p.m.

Police haven’t said if the man’s gun was real or a replica. A woman shot by police last week at a gas station near Albany, Oregon, displayed a gun that turned out to be a replica.

Police Swarm to Report of Gunman, Shut Down Interstate 84; One Report Says Cops Fired at Man

The Portland Mercury, Sept. 1, 2014

UPDATE 10:17 PM: Police have just identified the man shot and wounded by an officer this morning near Interstate 84—and a bit of research shows he’s dealt not only with mental health issues, as has been reported, but also with the aftermath of a nearly 12-year-old high-profile encounter with police.

DeNorris Laron McClendon, 27, was treated at a Portland hospital and released into custody. He’s since been booked into jail, police have announced, and faces 12 counts of menacing, two counts of reckless endangerment, and two counts of second-degree disorderly conduct in connection with today’s confrontation. He’ll be arraigned in the morning.

Several people called police this morning to complain McClendon was stalking up and down an Interstate 84 on-ramp and maybe threatening to carjack them, according to police. McClendon eventually faced responding officers from North Precinct, police said, ran through freeway traffic to get away from them, and was shot after he reportedly pointed what looked like a gun at another of the officers. He was arrested a couple of blocks away after tactical officers and negotiators approached him in an armored vehicle.

Police are actively looking to add to the pile of charges, asking anyone else who encountered McClenodon to phone detectives. Two TV stations have reported McClendon was in a mental health crisis, and the O, citing a source, says he was the subject of a mental health hold.

A quick Internet search also turns up the fact that this isn’t McClendon’s first prominent run-in with Portland officers. When he was 15, in September 2002, an officer Tasered him in his own home—in a case that was appealed to the city’s Citizen Review Committee.

McClendon’s mother had called 911 after his brother had come home beaten up, and after a dispatcher told them to prepare for a trip to the hospital, McClendon had gone downstairs to help to secure the house. McClendon had taken a pipe he meant to place in the track of a sliding patio door, his family said, except that police had already come to the house and went in without knocking.

An officer who’d come in with his gun drawn ordered McClendon to drop the pipe, twice, before a confused McClendon finally listened. That was when the officer zapped him—only to be cleared after telling his superiors that McClendon was much bigger than he actually was and also that the pipe was more than twice as big as it actually was.

The Portland Alliance covered the case in 2004:

Suddenly, he felt excruciating pain as Officer Ware fired the Taser. Two barbs entered the boy’s bare torso, allowing 50,000 volts of electricity to travel through wires attached to the Taser. He begged the officer to stop and tried to pull the barbs out, burning his fingers in the process. Jones and her sons claimed that they heard the officer pull the trigger more than once (each trigger pull results in a 5 second pulse of electricity.) The ambulance originally designated to take his wounded brother to the hospital ended up taking DeNorris there in order to cut the barbs out of his skin.

Officer Ware’s explanation for firing the Taser at the youth in his home contradicted Jones and DeNorris’s account. Ware described how he initially responded to a call to break up a fight amongst “kids.” No one was at the fight location except a witness who said he saw one of the kids —who was injured — walk off in a certain direction. In the meantime, Ware heard over the car’s radio that the mother of a victim injured in a fight called 911 for medical help.

Ware then arrived at the home of Andria Jones, where the front door was open. Ware knocked and announced his presence more than once with no response. Claiming that he heard yelling and screaming inside, Ware entered the home under the Bureau’s “community caretaking” policy, which allows officers to go inside residences without owner permission to render assistance, including first aid.

Ware claimed that DeNorris walked past him, about five feet away, and picked up a metal bar to “cock” it over his head while turning around to face and cuss at the officer. Ware pulled out his Taser and ordered the boy to drop the bar. The boy did so on Ware’s second command; however, Ware claimed the boy then came towards him with his fists raised in a threatening manner, a “fact” the youth disputes. Because Ware believed his safety was threatened by DeNorris, he subsequently charged the boy with menacing, interfering with a peace officer, and disorderly conduct – all of which the District Attorney dismissed.

Those charges are similar to what McClendon faces now. McClendon, in 2004, was described by his mother as a lifelong “special needs” child. The Tasering, his mother said at the time, set him back greatly.

After the hearing, Jones stated that her son has been a “special needs” child all of his life. After being tasered in his own home, his doctor found that DeNorris’s emotional state regressed about 75%. DeNorris cringed for months whenever he saw a police car and continues to have nightmares over the incident. Jones said that for a while immediately after the incident, her son started cutting himself – something he had never done prior to being shot with the Taser.

McClendon has had other troubles with the law over the years. But KOIN has reported, citing family, that McClendon had a breakdown this summer after the death of Jones, his mother. The Portland Observer published her obituary in July.

UPDATE 1:12 PM: Chief Mike Reese spoke during a brief news conference and said the man shot by police is expected to survive his injuries. Police also say the man was trying to carjack various drivers and had threatened several people with something that looked like a gun.

According to KGW, Reese confirmed reports the man, while walking along Interstate 84, had pointed the presumed weapon at the officers who arrived to investigate all those calls, with one of them firing and apparently hitting the man. The man ran off but collapsed a couple of blocks away. Police say he was telling officers he wanted them to kill him. It’s not yet been determined if he was waving a real handgun… or a replica.

KPTV has since joined KOIN in reporting that the man’s family is saying he was in a mental health crisis.

The Oregonian is reporting that some 100 officers showed up and that Interstate 84 will remain closed for several more hours because it’s now part of a crime scene. The closure’s in both directions, and the detour directions are like so:

• Eastbound traffic will be directed to southbound Interstate 205

• Westbound traffic is being dumped onto NE 121st

The full police account is here. The police statement says tactical officers and negotiators used an armored vehicle to get close to the man. It also says the officer who fired at the man will be identified tomorrow.

UPDATE 12:13 PM: Whatever’s gone on, it’s no longer active. “The scene is now safe,” police officials said in an email, promising an update in a few minutes. Still no ETA, it seems, on when the highway might reopen.

KOIN, still citing sources ahead of an official police statement, now says the man sought by police has “been detained and required medical attention.”

They’ve also tweeted the following, saying the man shot was in a mental health crisis. They’ve since sourced that to the man’s uncle.

BREAKING: Family of the suspect from the I-84 incident say he was in “mental health crisis.” http://t.co/GXWITc7Xva pic.twitter.com/VAYL9RCG21
— Brent Weisberg (@BrentKOIN) September 1, 2014

Original post:

Portland police have shut down Interstate 84 in East Portland—swarming around NE 107th and Fremont and sending in tactical officers and crisis negotiators—while they try to contact a “suspect” in what’s been officially called an ongoing tactical incident with “shots fired.

The Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) and the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) are responding to assist North Precinct officers in the 11200 block of Northeast Fremont Street on an active, ongoing tactical incident with shots fired.

Residents along this section of Fremont are asked to shelter-in-place unless directed otherwise by police at the scene.

The suspect in the incident is contained and officers are attempting to communicate with him.

No additional information can be confirmed or released at this time.

But least one media outlet, citing a “law enforcement source,” is reporting the incident as a police shooting. KOIN says a man believed to be armed with a handgun, walking along the highway, and suspected in a carjacking was fired at by police officers after he reportedly waved what looked like a weapon at them. KGW has posted a tweet claiming that Police Chief Mike Reese has shown up, which would follow protocol if police fired their weapons.

Just before 10 a.m., emergency dispatchers received multiple reports of a man armed with a gun in the area of NE 122nd and I-84, a law enforcement source told KOIN 6 News.

Responding officers saw the man, who was seen running on I-84, and the railroad tracks adjacent to it. The suspect may have tried to carjack a vehicle, the law enforcement source said, but the driver was able to get out of the way.

The suspect kept running onto NE Fremont, then toward NE 112th. He pointed his weapon at the officers, who fired at him, the law enforcement source said.

KATU’s also reported that people had taken to social media this morning and posted about a man walking along the freeway with a large gun.

It’s unclear if anyone’s been injured or worse at this point. KOIN’s saying no officers have been injured. The last definitive police statement, posted above, says only that a suspect was contained. Police officials also have asked media outlets not to broadcast tactical locations and movements, suggesting whatever’s going is far from over yet.

This is all happening not so far from a motel near NE 117th and Sandy that tactical officers had visited yesterday while checking on reports of a kidnapping.

PPB: Gun-waving man tried carjacking, asked to be shot

KOIN 6 News, Sept. 1, 2014

A man who was wounded by police after allegedly waving a gun at passing cars and then at police along I-84 on Monday was identified as 27-year-old Denorris Laron McClendon.

The incident began just before 10 a.m. along I-84 near NE 122nd, Portland Police Chief Mike Reese said. The highway was shut down during the incident, and remained shut down for about four hours during the investigation.

More than 100 Portland police officers went to the Northeast Portland neighborhood.

Reese said the McClendon may have tried to carjack a passing motorist before police arrived. McClendon then pulled a gun on police and ran through traffic.

Police fired and wounded McClendon.

I-84 was shut down for hours during the investigation, but re-opened around 2 p.m.

McClendon has since been booked into the Multnomah County Jail on multiple charges after being treated and released from a Portland hospital.

Witnesses, drivers, neighbors

Ken Tomkins said he heard the gunshots.

“They were in quick succession — boom, boom, boom, boom,” he said. “But we couldn’t tell where it was coming from.”

Authorities immediately shut down I-84. Labor Day drivers were immediately at a standstill.

“All of a sudden, 10 police officers and motorcycles went whizzing past us on I-84,” said Teresa Paige. “Before we got off, we stopped. I saw the first exit and I’m like, ‘Let’s get off.’”

McClendon kept running and collapsed a few blocks away, putting the neighborhood in the 11200 block of NE Fremont on lockdown.

“They didn’t want anyone else to get shot, so they told us to stay home,” said resident Karen Pfeiffer. She said police asked her to “please take my dogs into the house.”

Terri Hanno, who lives nearby, said she could hear the bull horn the police used. “They were saying, ‘We are just here to help you. Put your left arm up, away from the rifle. You’re doing good, you’re doing good.’”

Reese said a SERT team and crisis negotiators were called. McClendon refused to comply with police demands, Reese said, and he asked to be shot.

“Officers began talking with the man. He wanted officers to shoot him,” said Reese.

McClendon’s uncle told KOIN 6 News that his nephew has mental health issues. Other family members said McClendon had a mental breakdown after his mother passed away recently.

“We are still trying to understand why he engaged in this behavior and move forward,” said Reese.

Authorities found a handgun with the McClendon, but it remains unclear if it was a real gun or a replica.

McClendon is charged with 12 counts of menacing, two counts of reckless endangerment and two counts of disorderly conduct in the second degree. He will be arraigned on Tuesday in Multnomah County Court.

Authorities said the investigation is continuing and additional charges may be added at a later time.

Detectives want to hear from anyone who had contact with McClendon on Monday on I-84 or elsewhere. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Chris Traynor at 503.823.0449

Man shot by Portland police on I-84 had fake gun

The Washington Times, Sept. 2, 2014

A man shot by Portland police on Interstate 84 was carrying a replica semi-automatic pistol, and an ambulance had taken him for a mental-health evaluation the night before the incident, the authorities said Tuesday.

Denorris McClendon, 27, was booked into the Multnomah County Jail after his release from the hospital. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of menacing, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.

Labor Day travelers told emergency dispatchers a man later identified as McClendon was walking on an I-84 off-ramp with a gun and it appeared he was trying to carjack motorists. The man allegedly pointed the weapon at responding police and ran through freeway traffic.

Officer Michael Honl fired a shotgun blast that grazed McClendon in the hip. According to police, the wounded man went into a residential neighborhood and collapsed in the street, pleading with officers to kill him before eventually giving up.

Police: Man shot by officer was high on meth, had mental health evaluation Sunday

 KATU.com, Sept. 2, 2014

The man who was shot along Interstate 84 by Portland police on Monday had been suffering a paranoid delusion the day before and had broken both of his arms last week and removed the casts himself, Portland police said.

Police also said Denorris Laron McClendon was high on methamphetamine at the time of the shooting, and that the gun he was waving at passing drivers was a replica semiautomatic air pistol.

Police said McClendon’s grandmother called Sunday evening to say he was having a delusion in her backyard, where he’d been swinging a wooden dowel at her shrubbery for a good part of the day.

When they got there, she told them that he had broken both arms four days earlier, then removed the casts himself.

He agreed to be taken in for a mental-health evaluation, where he was placed on a police hold and received medical treatment.

Police also said 17-year veteran Michael Honl is the officer who shot McClendon. They said he’s scheduled to be interviewed on Wednesday, and that 10 other officers and several civilian witnesses have already been interviewed.

McClendon was arraigned in Multnomah County Court Tuesday afternoon wearing a suicide vest and casts on both arms. The court will determine whether he is a danger to himself or the public before deciding whether to set bail.

“He Wanted to Die”

Outside the courtroom, McClendon’s grandmother, Johnetta Burkette, told KATU her grandson had just lost his mother and wanted to die.

“He had been up, hadn’t ate, hadn’t slept, and he gave up,” Burkette said. “He gave up and that was his way of let me end it quick.”

Burkette added that her grandson wasn’t trying to hurt anybody on I-84, he simply wanted the police to shoot and kill him. She recalls what McClendon told her before he left their home Monday morning.

“He said goodbye to me. He said he wouldn’t trouble me anymore,” Burkette said.

Burkette said she’s grateful police only wounded her grandson.

Police identify officer in shooting, say suspect had replica gun

Portland Tribune, Sept. 2, 2014

Police identified the officer and released more details in the shooting of the carjacking suspect in Northeast Portland on Labor Day.

The officer is Michael Honl, a 17-year-veteran of the Portland Police Bureau assigned to East Precinct. He is on paid administrative leave and scheduled to be interviewed by investigators on Wednesday.

Honl shot Denorris Laron McClendon, who was reported pointing a gun at motorists near the Northeast 122nd Avenue exit from I-84. Honl shot McClendon after he pointed the gun at responding officers.

Police say they recovered a realistic look black, replica semi-automatic air pistol from the scene that McClendon was carrying and pointing at people during this incident.

According to police, detectives investigating the incident have learned that officers had contact with McClendon at approximately 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, Aug 1, the night before the shooting.

The contact was the result of a call from McClendon’s grandmother, who told police that he was suffering from a paranoid delusion and was in the backyard of her home swinging a wooden dowel at shrubbery, looking for the FBI. McClendon’s grandmother told officers that he had been doing this for a good part of the day.

McClendon’s grandmother also told officers that he had broken both arms approximately four days earlier and had removed both casts himself.

Officers spoke with McClendon and noted the apparent injuries to his arms. He agreed to go a Portland hospital by ambulance, where he was placed on a police hold for a mental health evaluation and medical treatment.

Detectives learned that after McClendon’s release from the hospital, he ingested a quantity of methamphetamine prior to the 9-1-1 calls about the Monday incident along I-84.

Ten officers that witnessed the shooting have already been interviewed by detectives, along with several civilian witnesses in the area.

Detectives would like to hear from anyone who had contact with McClendon before and during the incident on I-84.

Detectives would also like copies of any video or still images taken by witnesses in the area. These images can be emailed directly to detectives.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Chris Traynor at (503) 823-0449, christopher.traynor@portlandoregon.gov; or, Detective Bryan Steed at (503) 823-0395,

Portland Police have now identified a man who was reportedly waving a gun at cars at the intersection of Interstate 84 and Northeast 122nd Avenue Monday morning. Denorris Laron McClendon, 27 years old, was the man shot by an officer and taken into custody with non-life-threatening injuries.

He was booked into the Multnomah County jail after medical treatment and is now charged with 12 counts of menacing, 2 counts of reckless endangerment and two counts of disorderly conduct.

McClendon appeared in court Tuesday. His attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Bail was set at $160,000.

Officers responded to the reports of the suspect pointing his gun at passing cars around 10 a.m., police said. Other callers said the suspect was trying to carjack drivers on the highway ramp.

According to Portland Police Chief Mike Reese, when officers arrived, the suspect pointed a gun at an officer and ran through traffic.

An officer fired his gun and hit the suspect, Reese said. The suspect fled but collapsed in the 11200 block of Northeast Fremont Street.

The suspect indicated that he wanted officers to shoot him.

Officers, assisted by SERT and the Crisis Negotiation Team, were able to detain the suspect and take him into custody. He was taken to a Portland hospital with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.

Reese said officers are not yet sure if the suspect’s gun is real or a replica.

As is standard with incidents like this, homicide detectives were investigating. Any witnesses who have not yet spoken to police were asked to call the non-emergency line at 503-823-3333.

The officer involved in the shooting, Michael Honl, was placed on paid administrative leave.

During what Sgt. Pete Simpson described as an “ongoing tactical operation,” residents around Northeast 122nd Avenue and Northeast Fremont Street were told to “shelter in place.”

Karen Wheatfall, who lives in the neighborhood, said she was shocked by the police activity in the neighborhood.

“Our neighborhood is quiet,” Wheatfall said. “We’ve been here 20 years, never had any problems.”

Labor Day drivers were at a standstill on I-84. Both westbound and eastbound lanes of I-84 between 181st Avenue and I-205 were closed through the investigation. The highway reopened just after 2 p.m.

Man Shot by Police Had Been Placed on a Mental Health Hold the Night Before

The Portland Mercury, Sept. 2, 2014

The Portland Police Bureau this morning has confirmed TV reports, citing relatives, that the man shot by an officer along Interstate 84 yesterday was deep in a mental health crisis when he reportedly waved a replica handgun at drivers on a freeway ramp and then again at responding cops.

DeNorris Laron McClendon, 27, had been taken to a hospital and placed on a police mental health hold the night before his encounter on I-84, police said in a statement. His grandmother called because he was having delusions, swinging a stick at the bushes in her yard and looking for the FBI. In between his release from the hospital and his shooting, police say, McClendon got his hands on an undetermined amount of methamphetamine.

While investigating the circumstances of the shooting and McClendon’s background, detectives learned that 27-year-old Denorris Laron McClendon had contact with Portland Police officers on Sunday August 31, 2014, at approximately 8:00 p.m., the night before the incident on I-84.

The police contact was the result of a call from McClendon’s grandmother, who told police that McClendon was suffering from a paranoid delusion and was in the backyard of her home swinging a wooden dowel at shrubbery, looking for the FBI. McClendon’s grandmother told officers that McClendon had been doing this for a good part of the day. Additionally, she told officers that McClendon had broken both arms approximately 4 days earlier and had removed both casts himself.

Officers spoke with McClendon and noted the apparent injuries to his arms and he agreed to go a Portland hospital by ambulance, where he was placed on a police hold for a mental health evaluation and medical treatment.

McClendon, as the Mercury seemed first to note yesterday, was involved in another high-profile encounter with police back when he was 15. Officer Paul Ware fired a Taser at McClendon in McClendon’s own home. McClendon had been trying to lock up his family’s house in preparation for a trip to the hospital with his brother. Ware, responding to the family’s call for help, came inside the house with his gun drawn and though McClendon meant to attack him.

His mother, who appealed a police decision to clear Ware a decade ago and described McClendon as a “special needs” child, died this summer. Relatives told KOIN that McClendon suffered a breakdown after his mother passed.

The bureau also identified the officer who shot McClendon: Michael Honl, an East Precinct cop who’s worked in Portland for 10 years. Honl, in 2011, was given an award after helping two other officers save a woman trying to jump onto Interstate 205. Honl was one of two officers involved in a 2005 nonfatal shooting, according to Portland Copwatch’s archives.

The third incident, which happened most recently, was the March 28 shooting of Gilbert Thomas King, 35. King allegedly put the pickup he was driving into reverse as officers approached him, and rammed the police car. The officers, Michael Honl (#33525) and Dell Stroh (#39607) shot nine bullets, missing both King and his passenger. King received a head wound from the crash (Oregonian, March 30-31 & April 12 and PPB). It is unclear why King is being charged with attempted aggravated murder, since the officers were not in their car at the time. It is similarly unclear whether these officers’ actions would violate the new policy proposed by Chief Foxworth restricting shooting at vehicles

 Alleged I-84 gun-waver faces 12 charges

KOIN 6 News, Sept. 2, 2014

The 27-year-old man who allegedly tried to carjack motorists on I-84 Monday is scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday.

Denorris Laron McClendon was wounded by police after he allegedly pulled a gun on them and ran through traffic on the freeway. I-84 was shut down for about four hours while police investigated.

He was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injury, and later booked into the Multnomah County Jail on multiple charges.

McClendon’s uncle told KOIN 6 News that his nephew has mental health issues. Other family members said McClendon had a mental breakdown after his mother passed away recently.

McClendon is charged with 12 counts of menacing, two counts of reckless endangerment and two counts of disorderly conduct in the second degree.

KOIN 6 News will have more information later in the day.

The Skanner, Sept. 2, 2014

A 27-year-old man was shot by police Monday after brandishing a gun on an entrance ramp to the I-84 eastbound freeway. Denorris Laron McClendon was booked into the Multnomah County Jail on multiple charges after being treated and released from a Portland hospital.

McClendon has been charged with 12 counts of Menacing, two counts of Reckless Endangerment and two counts of Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree. He was arraigned Tuesday in Multnomah County Court.

Officer Michael Honl, a 17-year-veteran of the Portland Police Bureau assigned to East Precinct, was the officer who shot McClendon, police say.  Callers told police the man appeared to be trying to carjack drivers leaving the freeway at 122nd Avenue.  He was reported to be pointing the gun at drivers. The gun turned out to be a black, replica semi-automatic air pistol.

Once police arrived, McLendon pointed the gun at an officer then ran through traffic on the freeway. Multiple officers arrived in the area and all freeway traffic was shut down. The freeway was closed down for four hours as officers tried to contain the suspect.

At some point an officer fired shots and struck McLendon. He ran away before collapsing at 112th and N.E. Fremont Street.

The Special Emergency Reaction Team and Crisis Negotiation Team responded to the man and, using an armored vehicle, they took him into custody and rendered medical aid.

Homicide detectives are investigating, standard procedure in officer-involved shootings. Detectives learned that McClendon initially had contact with Portland Police officers at around 8 p.m.  Sunday Aug.  31. Honl will be interviewed Wednesday. Other witnesses including 10 officers and civilians have already spoken to investigators.

Police answered a call from McClendon’s grandmother, who told them McClendon was suffering from a paranoid delusion, and was in the backyard of her home swinging a wooden dowel at shrubbery, looking for the FBI. She told officers that he had been doing this for a good part of the day.

Additionally, she told officers that McClendon had broken both arms approximately 4 days earlier and had removed both casts himself.

Officers spoke with McClendon and noted the apparent injuries to his arms and he agreed to go a Portland hospital by ambulance, where he was placed on a police hold for a mental health evaluation and medical treatment.

Detectives said that he was released from hospital and went on [to] use methamphetamine. Soon after police responded to the 9-1-1 calls on I-84.

Witnesses who have not talked to police are asked to call the Police Non-Emergency Line at (503) 823-3333.

Man shot by Portland police told his grandma he didn’t want to hurt anybody, ‘just himself’

 The Oregonian, Sept. 2, 2014

Johnetta Burkett was worried about her grandson, Denorris Laron McClendon, last week as he was dealing with two broken arms and teeth knocked out in an assault and the still-raw grief from his mother’s death this summer. He also had been using methamphetamine, apparently trying to treat himself for the pain, she said.

“In general, he’s been suffering physically and emotionally on top of a long history of depression and PTSD,” Burkett said in an interview Tuesday.

Burkett spoke to McClendon, 27, by phone Monday night after he was taken into custody, accused of waving a gun in traffic on Interstate 84 on Labor Day morning and then pointing it at police before a Portland officer fired on him. McClendon’s gun turned out to be a replica black semi-automatic air pistol, police said….Continue reading at OregonLive.com