Police close a road in north Marion County on Monday, April 25, after a Portland was shot and killed during a police confrontation. One officer was injured in the episode. (Marion Polk Yamhill Crime Facebook)
A Woodburn police officer is recovering in a Portland hospital after being shot Monday in a confrontation at a Marion County truck stop that left one man dead, according to the Oregon State Police.
The agency identified the officer as Jesse Ponce, 31, employed by the Woodburn Police Department since 2017. Ponce suffered “serious” but “non-life threatening” injury in the shooting, state police said.
According to the state police, a deputy U.S. marshal asked for other police to help at about 6 a.m. Monday after a suspect wanted for weapons crimes was spotted at the Fly J Travel Center, on the west side of Interstate 5 at the Aurora exit in north Marion County.
The suspect, identified as Micaiah A. Clinton, 27, “barricaded” himself in a van when approached by police and the Marion County Interagency SWAT Team negotiated with him for nearly five hours.
“After those efforts were unsuccessful, gas munitions were introduced into the van,” the police statement said. “At approximately 10:50 a.m., the suspect exited the van, at which multiple shots were fired.”
Ponce, a member of the SWAT team, and Clinton both were struck. Clinton, of Portland, died at the scene, the statement said.
Tyler Morrow, Marion County sheriff’s deputy, was put on administrative leave after the shooting, a routine action in a police shooting. Morrow, who has worked for the agency since 2012, also was on the SWAT team.
“WPD is happy to report that Officer Ponce is out of surgery and resting comfortably at the hospital. We wish him a healthy recovery,” said Woodburn Police Chief Marty Pilcher.
Clinton was indicted in December in Yamhill County Circuit Court for eluding an officer, reckless driving and recklessly endangering another in an incident from October. Court records show Clinton had not been arraigned in that case yet.
He was charged in Linn County in June 2021 with being a felon in possession of a firearm, court records show. A woman listing an Aurora address posted $900 bail for Clinton’s release from jail in that case, the records show. In February, a Linn County circuit judge issued a warrant for Clinton after he failed to appear at a court hearing.
