What started with the erratic driving of a Dodge Journey Crossroad SUV on Highway 224, leading to a traffic stop by a Milwaukie police officer in the wee hours of Friday, June 20th, turned into a high-speed pursuit up to Sellwood by several Milwaukie squad cars onto a dead end at S.E. 26th Place – followed by an enormous manhunt on the Eastmoreland Golf Course links, and later in the surrounding neighborhood.
To start the story at the beginning: At 2:42 a.m. early that Friday morning, a Milwaukie patrol officer saw the Dodge weaving between the westbound lanes of S.E. Highway 224 (Milwaukie Expressway) in Milwaukie and signaled for the driver to stop. At the S. E. Oak Street light, the driver turned right and stopped.
After identifying the driver – 42-year-old Loony John Franklin Toon – the MPD officer learned that he had an active felony warrant, and radioed for police backup. Due to the time of night, the seriousness of the warrant offense, and the potential for escape, the officer was parked in front of the stopped vehicle, and he wedged a spike strip under its rear tires. An arriving “cover” officer positioned a patrol vehicle behind the stopped car to limit escape options…