911 caller reported man doing quick-draws with gun in Lents Park leading up to fatal shooting by Portland police

A 911 caller reported that a man in Lents Park was “acting like James Bond” and “like a cowboy” by doing quick-draws with a gun but not pointing it at anybody, responding Portland police Officer Zachary DeLong told dispatchers.

Only minutes later, DeLong shot and killed Robert Douglas Delgado, 46, according to a timeline and a dispatch recording released Monday by police of the fatal shooting last Friday.

DeLong arrived at the park at 9:36 a.m. and alerted dispatch that he saw the man by the east side of the park, with no shirt on and black pants, according to the radio transmissions. The officer said he had “eyes on” the man, planned to pull into the parking lot and address him from a distance and that he didn’t see a gun.

But a short time later, DeLong radioed, “He’s not compliant...he’s flipping us off” and that others in the park were saying the man had a gun, according to the police radio transmissions. The officer called for other police to contain other parts of the park.

“Very noncompliant,” DeLong radioed a short time later. “I think the gun’s in his back pocket.”

Four minutes after officers arrived at the park near the Portland Pickles ball field, police reported that shots had been fired at 9:40 a.m. The shooting occurred 12 minutes after the first 911 call came in at 9:28 a.m., police said.

“Shots fired, suspect down. I can’t see him,” an officer radioed.

DeLong, who was hiding behind a tree, fired an AR-15 rifle from about 90 feet from Delgado. Seeking cover behind the same tree was Portland Officer Samantha Wuthrich, who had a less-lethal weapon.

Replica gun  found at Lents Park

A replica orange-tipped gun found near where Robert Douglas Delgado was pronounced dead in Lents Park after he was shot by a Portland police officer Friday, April 16, 2021.

Delgado was shot once and collapsed behind a tree near the fence along the outfield of the ball field near Southeast 92nd Avenue and Holgate Boulevard.

Police called a sergeant to bring a shield to the scene so officers could safely approach Delgado. Officers reported Delgado moving his right arm initially, according to the radio transmissions. Police planned to drive up to the man in a police SUV.

A minute after the police reported shots fired, an ambulance was sent to the park.

About 9:47 a.m., officers called for emergency medical workers to come into the scene. A minute later, police approached and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. By 9:53 a.m., police said emergency medics took over.

Wuthrich was one of two officers who had fired munitions from less-lethal 40mm launchers. Wuthrich, a former traffic officer, is believed to have fired either slightly before or at the same time of DeLong’s rifle shots. The shooting remains under investigation.

Police recovered a replica handgun with an orange tip on it and a magazine to the gun that Delgado had. Police photographed the gun lying on the grass in the park but did not specify exactly where it was.

Delgado suffered from anxiety and depression and had been living on the streets, in parks and “couch surfing,” according to his family and court records.

Replica gun and magazine found at Lents Park

The magazine to a replica orange-tipped gun that Portland police recovered near the body of Robert Douglas Delgado.

In an unusual step, Acting Police Chief Chris Davis and a police captain provided a briefing on the shooting to all city commissioners via Zoom about 4 p.m. Friday. With new city commissioners, the briefing was held to make sure they understood how the city investigates police shootings, said Jim Middaugh, spokesman for Mayor Ted Wheeler.

Police said Monday that witness officers and DeLong have been interviewed by investigators with Portland police and the East County Major Crimes Team. The investigation will be presented to a grand jury for review. A parallel internal administrative investigation also is proceeding.

“We ask for continued patience as we work through the complex process of investigation and administrative review in this case and we will share information as we can,” Davis said in a statement. Davis is acting chief for Chief Chuck Lovell, who is out of state on vacation.

Police ask anyone with information about the shooting to call Detective Anthony Merrill at 503-823-4033 or anthony.merrill@portlandoregon.gov or Detective Joe Cornona at 503-823-0508 or joseph.corona@portlandoregon.gov.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian


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