Summary: On April 30, 2011 North Precinct officers were dispatched to a suspicious circumstance call in which the caller reported a severely beaten woman was being held against her will in a residence in North Portland. Officers were told that the victim was being held captive and that she was in dire need of medical attention. Through keen investigatory steps, officers were able to locate the residence in which the victim was being held. Understanding the severity of the situation, additional officers, including a police K-9 and supervisors responded to the area, to plan and execute a tactical mission to rescue the victim. In addition to police units, emergency medical personnel were staged nearby in order to provide the victim with immediate medical attention. The officers, aware that the victim was in this residence, repeatedly demanded entry into the residence. Officers recognized that there was an immediate and exigent need to enter this residence to protect and preserve life. Officers entered the residence and located the victim hidden in a back bedroom of the residence. Officers also located and arrested 29-year-old Kip Michael Kawamoto and charged him with Assault in the First Degree, Sodomy in the First Degree, Unlawful Sexual Penetration in the First Degree, and two counts of Kidnapping in the First Degree. Officers were shocked to see the condition of the victim who was severely beaten and was severely injured. The victim had been brutally beaten and sexually assaulted and locked and secluded in a bedroom for two days, not being given any medical attention that she so desperately needed. It was noted by medical staff and detectives that if the victim did not receive immediate medical attention she may have died if these officers did not act to provide her the emergency medical attention she needed. Based upon the collaborative teamwork of Officers Michael Roberts, Josh Kraner, Anthony Zoeller, Joel Ockunzzi, Jessica Brainard, James Townley, Jorge Mendoza, Jeff Elias, James Quackenbush, and Sergeant Phil Blanchard, they were able to perform a dangerous and necessary rescue of the victim and provide her immediate medical attention. Due to the actions of these officers, it is clear that they performed in an exemplary manner exhibiting the Portland Police Bureau's mission of protecting and preserving life. The actions of these officers likely saved the victim's life and therefore they will be awarded the Portland Police Bureau's Life Saving Medal.
