Boy Killed by Portland Police Officer Was Black, 17 Years Old and Armed with a Fake Gun

Police say Quanice Derrick Hayes was armed with a "realistic-looking replica firearm."

By Sophia June

The robbery suspect shot and killed by a Portland Police officer on Thursday morning was a 17-year-old black male armed with a replica handgun.

The Police Bureau this afternoon released the identity of the man killed by police, the first fatal shooting by police under Mayor Ted Wheeler and the first killing of a black man by Portland police in more than six years.

Quanice Derrick Hayes was shot Thursday morning, after police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Portland Value Inn Hotel, at 1707 NE 82nd Ave.

Officer Andrew Hearst shot Hayes inside a house blocks from the reported robbery and a related report of a car prowl near the Banfield Pet Hospital.

Hayes' family has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his funeral.

Police say Hayes was armed with a "realistic-looking replica firearm."

Hearst is on paid administrative leave until a grand jury investigation is completed.

This wasn't Hearst's first shooting.

He was one of three officers who in 2013 shot Merle Hatch, who had entered the emergency room at Portland Adventist Medical Center. A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing. Officers thought Hatch was armed, but later learned it was a broken telephone.

The Police Bureau and Mayor Ted Wheeler are holding a press conference this afternoon to provide further information about the shooting.

Hayes' death is the first fatal shooting of a black person by a Portland Police officer in nearly seven years. The last black man to be killed by Portland police was Keaton Otis in 2010.

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