Suspect in Shooting of Two Portland Police Officers Arrested Following Week-Long Manhunt
What to Know
- Eric Oelkers has a criminal record dating back to 2003, including firearm possession and robbery convictions.
- He was arrested near Portland International Airport after police received tips and conducted a tactical operation.
- Oelkers is accused of shooting and injuring two officers responding to a call about a person with a knife.
- Police recovered a gun at the scene, but it is unclear if it belonged to Oelkers.
PORTLAND, Oregon -- A man Portland police have accused of shooting and wounding two officers last week has state and federal criminal convictions dating back to 2003 and had an active warrant for his arrest in an armed robbery case.
Police arrested 41-year-old Eric Floyd Oelkers, of Portland, around 7 a.m. Monday for allegedly shooting two Portland Police Bureau officers on Jan. 19.
Police identified Oelkers as the suspect in last Monday’s shooting within about 48 hours of his arrest, Sgt. Matt Jacobsen said at a Monday news conference. They found him based on several leads, including a tip from someone “associated” with the area where Oelkers was arrested in a tactical operation on Monday morning, near Northeast 82nd Avenue as it approaches Portland International Airport.
They didn’t say why Oelkers was in the area or where he lives.
He was booked into Multnomah County Jail just after 11 a.m. on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon.
Police closed Northeast 82nd Avenue to traffic for several hours during the arrest. They also recovered a gun from the area, but did not specify whether it belonged to Oelkers.
Oelker’s arrest comes a week after police allege he shot and injured two officers near Northeast 17th Avenue and Clackamas Street after they responded to a call about a person with a knife. Both officers are expected to recover from their injuries. One was released from the hospital the day after the shooting and the other was expected to be released Monday, police said.
Oelker’s past criminal record includes multiple convictions related to possession of firearms, robbery and menacing.
Oelkers was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2012 for possessing a firearm as a felon, federal court records show. He was the subject of a statewide search in 2019 on a federal warrant for violating probation after his release and served an additional year and two months. He was released from federal prison in June 2020.
He was arrested again in 2020 in connection with protests at the Oregon State Capitol and charged with criminal mischief and a bias crime for allegedly vandalizing a Black-owned restaurant in Salem during a rally, court records show. The charges remain pending and a warrant was issued for Oelkers’ arrest after he failed to appear for a hearing in 2022.
Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said he intends to bring “the full weight” of his office” to “aggressively prosecute” Oelkers. Vasquez said Oelkers will be arraigned within 24 hours and he will ask the court to hold him without bail.
“Portland cannot and will not become a place where someone can shoot at police and get away with it,” Vasquez said. “I want to make sure the community understands that this office will be laser-focused, this will be our highest priority.”
Sgt. Aaron Schmautz, president of the Portland Police Association union, said the officers’ injuries were “grievous” and they “will have their lives changed forever.”
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