Seattle man charged with civil disorder after shooting Portland firefighter with ball bearing

SEATTLE - A Seattle man has been charged with civil disobedience after shooting a firefighter with a ball bearing during a Portland protest on July 13, according to Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Court documents stated the firefighter was walking toward his team to brief them when the 38-year-old, Jesse Herman Bates, shot him in the chest. 

Fire crews were working to put out a fire in an intersection of downtown Portland during the protest. Cout documents state approximately 300 people in the area, some assaulting police officers, vandalizing and causing property damages. 

The injured firefighter said the Bates was armed with what looked like a "wrist rocket" style slingshot. Multnomah County Sherriff's Officers later identified Bates on camera as the shooter.

When officers approached the shooter nearby at a white tent in Lowsdale Square holding a crowbar, he ran from police.

Officers then shot the man in the back with a less-lethal munition to stop him, was taken into custody, but later released.

On August 25, Seattle Police Department's Robbery Unit received the man's outstanding warrant and issued state-wide notice. On September 1, Bates was spotted by Seattle bicycle officers near E. Broadway Ave. in Seattle and was arrested without incident. 

The FBI transferred his case to the District of Oregon. He made a first court appearance but was released by the judge pending further investigation.

The case remains an FBI investigation. If convicted, Bates faces five years in federal prison.