Joshua W. Degerness (injured)

Information
Officer-Involved Shooting Summary

Date: December 11, 2021
Subject: Joshua W. Degerness, 39
Involved Bureau Members: Sergeant Norman Staples, Officer Kenneth Jackson

On Saturday, December 11, 2021, at 7:51p.m., East Precinct officers initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of Southeast 92nd Avenue and Southeast Schiller Street. The suspect eluded the officers. An intervention technique was used on the vehicle, causing it to crash at Southeast Holgate Boulevard and Southeast 88th Avenue.

At some point during the incident, shots were fired. Officers began negotiating with the suspect attempting to convince him to surrender. The suspect was reportedly armed, so the Special Emergency Reaction Team and the Crisis Negotiation Team were called out. After lengthy negotiation, at about 10:00p.m., the suspect was taken into custody and transported to the hospital by ambulance. The suspect, Joshua W. Degerness, 39, was released from the hospital on December15, 2021, and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Assault in the First Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Attempt to Elude (vehicle).

The officers involved were Sergeant Norman Staples, an 18-year veteran of the Portland Police Bureau assigned to East Precinct, and Officer Kenneth Jackson, a 6-year veteran assigned to the Specialized Resources Division.  

As part of the use of force review process, the Bureau conducts an internal review of the entire incident and the case will go before the Police Review Board (PRB), which is composed of community members, Bureau members and representatives from the Independent Police Review Division.

The Portland Police Bureau's directive outlining the procedures followed after an officer-involved shooting may be found in Directive 1010.10