Downtown Jail Is in Lockdown After Three Deputies Were Injured in Altercation

The Multnomah County Detention Center on Southwest 3rd Avenue is in lockdown this afternoon following an altercation between an inmate and three corrections deputies, one of which was bitten in the finger.

Chris Liedle, spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, said the incident happened after the inmate attempted self-harm while being transferred between units. The inmate and the three deputies are currently being medically evaluated, and the lockdown will be lifted once the evaluation is completed.

“The lockdown is largely in place until more personnel come online and the adult in custody is moved to another housing unit,” he added.

This latest incident comes at a delicate moment in Multnomah County jails. Over the past month, two men have died while incarcerated in those facilities.

Allen George Walker, 31, was found unresponsive in his cell last Saturday, May 13. A preliminary investigation by the medical examiner concluded it was due to natural causes, and found no evidence of an overdose, foul play or suicide.

Donovan Wood, 26, died on May 2 after jail deputies tried and failed to resuscitate him. The sheriff’s did not release the cause of death, but when a prosecutor asked to drop his charges a few days later he told the judge that “he committed suicide in jail,” according to audio from the courtroom.

Earlier this month, a jail commander had to issue an officewide memo reminding jail deputies not to lock inmates in the shower for extended periods of time. One deputy was put on administrative leave.