Date: June 24, 2021
Subject: Michael Townsend, 40
Involved Bureau Member: Officer Curtis Brown
On Thursday, June 24, 2021, at 7:06 p.m., North Precinct officers were dispatched to a report of a welfare check on a white adult male dressed in all black at a motel in the 500 block of Northeast Holladay Street. After officers arrived with paramedics, they encountered a man matching that description and an officer involved shooting took place.
The subject involved was transported to a hospital by ambulance. Despite lifesaving efforts by medical personnel, he was deceased. The subject was later identified as 40-year-old Michael Ray Townsend. The autopsy revealed that Townsend died of a gunshot wound.
The officer involved is Curtis Brown, an 18-year veteran of the Portland Police Bureau assigned to North Precinct.
Surveillance video that captured the incident is available here: https://youtu.be/ZvBMgqobew8 (This video is graphic; discretion is advised).
On September 15, 2021, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced that upon the conclusion of the presentation of evidence, a grand jury returned a not true bill regarding the use of force by the officer.
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.
