Police killed Portland shooting suspect Michael Reinoehl without warning, provocation, witness says

Police invesitage police shooting of Michael Reinoehl
(Image credit: Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

The U.S. Marshals Service says that when members of its Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force fatally shot Michael Reinoehl in Lacey, Washington, on Sept. 3, "initial reports indicate the suspect produced a firearm, threatening the lives of law enforcement officers." Local law enforcement on the task force went to arrest Reinoehl, a self-described anti-fascist supporter, on a warrant for second-degree murder for the death of a far-right activist, Aaron "Jay" Danielson. Police said they found a handgun in Reinoehl's possession but did not say if he ever fired it. A witness has come forward to say Reinoehl never even appeared to draw his gun.

Nate Dinguss, a 39-year-old minister who lives in the apartment complex where Reinoehl was gunned down, told The Oregonian on Wednesday and The Washington Post on Thursday that police didn't even warn Reinoehl before firing. The Post summarized his statement, issued through a lawyer:

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.