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Tenth Deadly Force Incident in Ten Months
Portland Police Level of Violence Unheard of Since 2001

Since our last newsletter, in which we noted Portland Police had shot, shot at or caused the death in custody of seven people in 99 days, the PPB was involved in three more incidents. All three suspects were shot and killed. On April 29, Sgt. James Mooney (#50526) and Officer Michael Gonzalez (#57135) killed Jeb Brock, 42, a suspect in the non-fatal stabbings of several family members. On June 9, Officers Jackson Oldham (#55188) and Nathan Kirby-Glatkowski (#56629) shot and killed David Downs, 38, when they say he was threatening a woman with a knife in a downtown building's stairwell. On July 30, Officer Gary Doran (#47826) shot and killed Lane Christopher Martin, 31,* after he was reportedly swinging a hatchet at people on the street. A lot of new information also came out about the deaths of Andre Gladen (PPR #77), Samuel Rice and Richard Barry (both PPR #76), including horrifying body cam footage of Barry's death in custody.

Jeb Brock: Stabbing Suspect Also Shot with "Less Lethal"

Mooney and Gonzales were among officers who responded to a home near SE 131st and Center St. and found two people outside who had been stabbed, and two others inside. An 18 month old infant was not harmed. According to the Bureau's narrative, the officers found Brock holding a woman at knifepoint and "engaged" him. The Oregonian reported on June 22 that one officer yelled "drop the knife or you will be shot" 30 seconds before Officer Aaron Rizzo (#56653) fired a less lethal weapon. The officers said the woman "shimmied away" and they opened fire, killing Brock. Gonzales said he "wouldn't be able to sleep" if he accidentally shot the woman. Brock supposedly yelled at the officers to kill him. The Oregon Public Broadcasting story on the incident (May 1) inserted Brock's criminal history, which was, per their current policy, not part of the Bureau's news release. However, that memo was titled "Police Release Identification of Suspect Involved in Stabbing," leaving off the salient point that he was killed by the police.

David Downs: Cops Shoot at Man Holding "Hostage"

Interestingly, though Downs was allegedly also holding a woman at knifepoint, the PPB designated their encounter with him a "hostage situation," a term not applied to Brock (a "stabbing suspect"). Downs was in the stairwell at the Safeway building in the upscale Pearl District (no doubt one reason the cops were quick to respond) on NW Lovejoy. He was involved in an "altercation" and said he had an explosive device (he did not), according to the Oregonian's website (June 10). Oldham and Glatkowski shot and killed him, though it's not clear whether he was in physical contact with the woman, who was reportedly injured before the cops arrived. The PPB mistakenly killed 12-year-old Nathan Thomas in 1992 when a suspect had a knife to his throat (they also killed the suspect), and killed Byron Hammick in 2002 while he was holding a toddler (PPR #26). The police had also claimed Samuel Rice's girlfriend was a "hostage" even though she denied that interpretation in an interview with the Mercury .

Lane Martin: Eyewitnesses Say He Dropped His Hatchet

Martin was recorded on cell phone video walking down the sidewalk near SE 120th and Ash with the hatchet. A witness told Oregonlive (August 1) Martin dropped the hatchet when Officer Nicholas Bianchini (#50575) and acting Sergeant David Kemple (#39589) fired less lethal rounds at him. Kemple's involvement is significant as the OIR group has repeatedly told the Bureau to restrict supervisors from taking hands-on roles during deadly force incidents. Martin reportedly had mental health issues and was houseless. Although other details remain sketchy, several people who live in the apartment building where Martin was eventually shot reported they were scared the officer's bullets would hit residents. They also said Martin was wearing gloves and apparently unarmed. The neighbors complained Martin's body was left exposed for over three hours, another policy the Bureau was supposed to fix using portable screens based on OIR recommendations.

Details From Grand Jury Transcripts of Gladen, Rice Deaths

Within a matter of days in May, the District Attorney's office released Grand Jury transcripts of the cases of Andre Gladen and Sam Rice. The first hearing revealed Officer Consider Vosu first fired a Taser at Gladen, then reports he saw his own police knife in Gladen's hand, backed into a bedroom and fired three shots, killing the young, legally blind man (Oregonian, May 10). Officer Kelly VanBlokland told the Grand Jury in the Rice case that he "wouldn't be able to sleep at night" if Rice had harmed his girlfriend. However, Rice was in the bathroom alone staring at the officer at the time, meaning there was no imminent threat of harm to anyone at the time VanBlokland shot Rice through the eye, killing him (Portland Tribune, May 14).

Two Lawsuits, One Against University Police, and Copcam Footage of Barry's Death

Two deadly force related lawsuits were announced in recent months. The family of Terrell Johnson, killed by PPB Officer Samson Ajir in 2017 in circumstances questioned by experts (PPR #77), announced a suit based in part on the experts' report in early May (Oregonian, May 11). In June, the family of Jason Washington, who was shot by Portland State University (PSU) Police in 2018 (PPR #75), also filed a lawsuit seeking justice (Oregonian, June 14).

On May 29, PSU's magazine the Pacific Sentinel published body camera footage from one of the PSU officers who was involved in struggling with Richard Barry on Thanksgiving last year. PPB officers do not use body cameras. The camera in question fell off the officer, showing nothing but blackness for several minutes, but when lifted up again one can clearly see Portland Officers pushing down on Barry until he stops moving. They make jokes about not wanting him to be on their hats and barely turn him over to see if he is breathing. It is horrifying footage, but those with strong fortitude can see the recording and lengthy article Richard Barry: Chronicle of a Death as Told.

* -Martin was killed on July 30, one day before his 32nd birthday.
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September, 2019
Also in PPR #78

Portland Copwatch
PO Box 42456
Portland, OR 97242
(503) 236-3065/ Incident Report Line (503) 321-5120
e-mail: copwatch@portlandcopwatch.org

Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.

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