Madras police pursuit ends in officer-involved shooting; driver injured, jailed
(Update: Adding mugshot, video, comments from witness)
MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) – A police pursuit led to an officer-involved shooting incident near St. Charles Madras on Wednesday in which a Madras man sustained minor injuries and was later jailed on several charges. No officers were injured, authorities said.
Witnesses told NewsChannel 21 police were pursuing a light-colored car on Northeast Oak Street shortly before noon. The driver apparently tried to make a U-turn, but police pinned it in and shots were fired as or after the person tried to leave the car.
Madras resident Leonard McIntire said he spotted two officers chasing a car and at one point, "the guy was heading right toward me, like head-on."
"And so I swerved towards the sidewalk, and he went around me," he recalled. "And the two cops blocked him in, because he made a U-turn, and he pulled right up behind me. And i darted out - got the heck out of there ya know?"
"As soon as I went past the cops, cause he waved me by, I looked in my mirror -- and there was this boom boom boom boom! Eight shots! That's what it sounded like," McIntire said.
No officers were injured and Jordan Abbe, 30, of Madras was treated at St. Charles Madras, then arrested and jailed on charges of second-degree attempted assault, attempted assault on a public safety officer, attempt to elude police, unlawful use of a weapon and reckless driving, Chief Deputy District Attorney Brentley Foster said. He was held on $190,000 bail.
The Central Oregon Major Incident Team was called in, Foster said, with Oregon State Police in command of the investigation.
Oak Street was closed in Madras between 12th and 16th Street. Undersheriff Marc Heckathorn said in a text alert that the closure was expected to continue “throughout the evening.”
A St. Charles Health System official confirmed that St. Charles Madras was not placed in lockdown or lockout as a result of the nearby incident.
Heckathorn said the street closure did not affect those using Oak Street to reach St. Charles Madras, but did limit access to Chinook Place Senior Living and the Morning Crest subdivision.
