Crime beat is often unpredictable, no more so than during recent Good Samaritan hospital shooting

Maxine Bernstein has covered a lot of stories in her more than two decades with The Oregonian and now OregonLive. A recent Saturday run along the waterfront quickly gave way to a long day’s work when she heard reports of a shooting at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, not far away in Northwest Portland’s Nob Hill District.
In this episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, Bernstein and Editor Therese Bottomly walk listeners through the chaotic day, which took Bernstein from Good Sam to the Stadium Fred Meyer to Gresham and then home, where she confronted an unusual ethical challenge.
Bottomly recently wrote about challenges that day, July 22, in getting solid and accurate information from official sources to reassure the public, which had been told an assailant was on the loose and Good Sam under lockdown. The Portland Police Bureau gave detailed responses explaining their reasoning in releasing what information they did and describing what they must consider before letting information out to the public. Read the responses here.
Bernstein, meantime, was able to confirm key details through the day to keep OregonLive readers informed hour by hour, along with breaking news reporter Austin De Dios, who was at the hospital much of the day.
The Oregonian/OregonLive followed the day’s news with a deeper story about the victim, Bobby Smallwood; concerns Legacy Health and other health care workers have about safety; and measures Legacy pledged to take to increase security at its hospitals.
Bernstein describes two conversations she had with Smallwood’s father.
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