PORTLAND OR Feb 20 2013 -- The man shot and killed by officers at Portland Adventist hospital Sunday was a fugitive on the run from U.S. Marshals, and was wanted for a bank robbery in Clackamas, police said.
Merle M. Hatch, 50, was a career criminal with arrests in California, Arizona and Colorado on a variety of charges including homicide, burglary, bank robbery and theft, according to Portland police.
Hatch was also the suspect in a February 15 robbery at the Wells Fargo bank in the 12000 block of Sunnyside Road, Sgt. Adam Phillips of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday afternoon.
Hatch was released from the Sheridan Federal Detention Facility on February 12, 2013. He was listed as a fugitive when he failed to report to a halfway house in Colorado.
Officers were called around 9:30 Sunday evening to the hospital after a report of a man with a gun in the courtyard, according to police bureau spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson. As officers were on the way, they initially were told the suspect was a patient.
The man told a staff member that he had a gun and would use it on the employee, before demanding the employee lead him to the exit, a hospital spokesperson later said.
The hospital initiated what's called a "Code Silver," which means a staff member has seen an armed, combative person on premises, said hospital spokeswoman Judy Leach.
The suspect left alone, and hospital security saw him outside on hospital grounds.
The suspect was in the employee parking lot, and had pointed the gun at a security guard’s vehicle, Simpson said. Officers "encountered the suspect in the PAMC employee parking lot and began giving him commands."
Three officers fired shots at Hatch, who fell to the ground, according to the police report. Officers administered first aid and called for paramedics. He was later pronounced dead.
The three officers involved in the shooting were all assigned to the East Precinct: Sergeant Nathan Voeller a 12-year-veteran; officer Andrew Hearst, a 3-year-veteran; and officer Royce Curtiss, a 7-year-veteran.
Phillips said surveillance images (pictured, above) show Hatch was responsible for the Wells Fargo robbery
source-kgw
Merle M. Hatch, 50, was a career criminal with arrests in California, Arizona and Colorado on a variety of charges including homicide, burglary, bank robbery and theft, according to Portland police.
Hatch was also the suspect in a February 15 robbery at the Wells Fargo bank in the 12000 block of Sunnyside Road, Sgt. Adam Phillips of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday afternoon.
Hatch was released from the Sheridan Federal Detention Facility on February 12, 2013. He was listed as a fugitive when he failed to report to a halfway house in Colorado.
Officers were called around 9:30 Sunday evening to the hospital after a report of a man with a gun in the courtyard, according to police bureau spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson. As officers were on the way, they initially were told the suspect was a patient.
The man told a staff member that he had a gun and would use it on the employee, before demanding the employee lead him to the exit, a hospital spokesperson later said.
The hospital initiated what's called a "Code Silver," which means a staff member has seen an armed, combative person on premises, said hospital spokeswoman Judy Leach.
The suspect left alone, and hospital security saw him outside on hospital grounds.
The suspect was in the employee parking lot, and had pointed the gun at a security guard’s vehicle, Simpson said. Officers "encountered the suspect in the PAMC employee parking lot and began giving him commands."
Three officers fired shots at Hatch, who fell to the ground, according to the police report. Officers administered first aid and called for paramedics. He was later pronounced dead.
The three officers involved in the shooting were all assigned to the East Precinct: Sergeant Nathan Voeller a 12-year-veteran; officer Andrew Hearst, a 3-year-veteran; and officer Royce Curtiss, a 7-year-veteran.
Phillips said surveillance images (pictured, above) show Hatch was responsible for the Wells Fargo robbery
source-kgw
