The Portland Alliance Portal to

Portland CopWatch
www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/copwatch

Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization
promoting police accountability through citizen action.
As part of Peace and Justice Works, PCW adheres to principles of non-violence.
Copwatch is a movement, not a franchise. Check with us to see if a copwatcher you encounter is with PCW.

Learn more about Portland Copwatch

-- Portland Copwatch
(a project of Peace and Justice Works)
*Founded in 1992, Portland Copwatch promotes police
accountability through civilian action and is working toward a
Police Bureau free of brutality, corruption, and racism.*
PO Box 42456
Portland, OR 97242
503-236-3065 (office- call or text)
503-321-5120 (incident report line)
copwatch@portlandcopwatch.org
http://www.portlandcopwatch.org

Portland Copwatch Statement Against Criminalization of Anti-Fascists

Portland Copwatch, as a project of Peace and Justice Works, adheres to
principles of non-violence. We are very aware that efforts by the
President and members of Congress to label Antifa as a criminal and/or
"terrorist" organization are unfounded and can only lead to
criminalization of free speech and association. Antifa is a term which
is short-hand for anti-fascists, covering an entire movement, not a
specific organization.

PORTLAND POLICE SHOOTINGS AND DEATHS IN CUSTODY
1992-December 2018

Compiled by Portland Copwatch.
Email copwatch@portlandcopwatch.org.

Last updated January 1, 2019

Name/age/gender/ethnicity/abilities Date / Case Type / People's Police Report issue #

2018

     Ryan Beisley, 34, male, European American      12/7/18      Shooting      PPR 76****
     Richard Barry, 52, male      11/22/18      Death in custody      PPR 76****
     Jason Hansen, 30, male, European American      10/19/18      Shooting      PPR 76****
     Samuel Rice, 30, male, European American, mental health crisis      10/10/18      Shooting death      PPR 76****
     Patrick Kimmons, 27, male, African American      9/30/18      Shooting death      PPR 76****
     John Andrew Elifritz, 48, male, European American      4/7/18      Shooting death      PPR 74
     Sarah Michelle Brown (Alexis Elizabeth Wilder), 26 (28?), female, European American      3/8/18      Shooting      PPR 74

2017

     Chase Arnae Peeples, 25, male, African American      10/25/17      Shooting      PPR 73
     Jesse Lee Brockner, 31, male, European American      8/30/17      Shooting      PPR 73
     Michael Ervin Grubbe, 51, male, European American      5/28/17      Shooting (no hits)      PPR 72
     Terrell Kyreem Johnson, 24, male, African American (mixed race), houseless      5/10/17      Shooting Death      PPR 72
     Don Allan Perkins, 56, male, European American, suicidal      2/9/17      Shooting      PPR 71
     Quanice Derrick Hayes, 17, male, African American      2/9/17      Shooting death      PPR 71

2016

     Steven Wayne Liffel, 52, male, European American      12/5/16      Shooting death      PPR 70
     Timothy James Bucher, 63, male      5/24/16      Shooting (no hits)      PPR 69
     Robert Dempsey, 54, male      4/21/16      Off-duty shooting (accidental?)      PPR 69

2015

     Michael Gregory Johnson, 51, male, European American      11/6/15      Shooting death      PPR 67
     David James Ellis, 55, male, European American      7/5/15      Shooting      PPR 66
     Alan Lee Bellew, 29, male, European American      6/28/15      Shooting Death      PPR 66
     Michael Shawn Harrison, 47, male, European American      5/17/15      Shooting      PPR 66
     Christopher Ryan Healy, 36, male, European American, houseless     3/22/15      Shooting Death      PPR 65
     Ryan Matthew Sudlow, 31, male, European American      2/17/15      Shooting (no hits)      PPR 65

2014

     Denorris Laron McClendon, 27, male, African American      9/1/14      Shooting      PPR 64
     Nicholas Glendon Davis, 23, male, European American, houseless     6/12/14      Shooting death      PPR 63
     Paul Alan Ropp, 20, male, European American      4/16/14      Shooting (hits unknown)*      PPR 62
     Kelly Vern Swoboda, 49, male, European American      3/12/14      Shooting death      PPR 62

2013

Santiago A. Cisneros III, 32, male, Latino 3/4/13 Shooting death PPR 59
Merle Mikal Hatch, 50, male, European-American, houseless 2/17/13 Shooting death PPR 59

2012

     Joshua Stephen Baker, 27, male, European American      9/29/12      Shooting      PPR 58
     Michael Anthony Tate, Jr, 25, male, Latino      8/21/12      Shooting (no hits)      PPR 57
     Billy Wayne Simms, 28, male, European American      7/28/12      Shooting death      PPR 57
     Name withheld (Juvenile), 17, male, African American      7/17/12      Shooting      PPR 57
     Jonah Aaron Potter, 31, male, European American      3/26/12     Shooting      PPR 56
     Adalberto Flores-Haro, 31, male, Latino      3/13/12     Shooting (Washington County/PPB Gang Team present)      PPR 56
     Bradley Lee Morgan, 21, male, European-American      1/25/12     Shooting death      PPR 56

2011

     Darris Eugene Johnson, 26, male, African American      7/9/11     Death in custody      PPR 54
     William Kyle Monroe, 20, male, European American      6/30/11      Shooting (live rounds in less lethal gun)      PPR 54
     Ralph Clyde Turner, 61, male, European American, mental health issues      3/6/11      Shooting (no hits)      PPR 53
     Thomas Higginbotham, 67, male, European American, houseless, mental health issues     1/2/11     Shooting death     PPR 53
     Kevin Charles Moffett, 31, male, African-American (alleged target) 1/1/11      Shooting (no hits)     PPR 53

2010

     Marcus Lagozzino, 34, male, European American, mental health crisis      12/27/10      Shooting      PPR 53
     Darryel Dwayne Ferguson, 45, male, European-American      12/17/10      Shooting death      PPR 52
     Craig Boehler, 46, male, European American      11/23/10      Shooting (with death by smoke inhalation)     PPR 52
     Keaton Dupree Otis, 25, African-American, male      5/12/10      Shooting death      PPR 51
     Jack Dale Collins, 58, European-American, male, houseless      3/22/10      Shooting death      PPR 50
     Aaron Marcell Campbell, 25, African-American, male      1/29/10      Shooting death      PPR 50
Back to top

2009

Osmar Lovaina-Bermudez, 36, male, Latino 8/24/09 Shooting PPR 49

2008

Derek J. Coady, 43, male, European American 5/15/08 Shooting death PPR 45
Jason Spoor, 27, male, African American 5/13/08 Shooting death PPR 45

2007

     Jeffrey Dean Turpin, 42, male, European American      10/5/07     Off-duty shooting death (Scappoose)      PPR 43
     Lesley Paul Scott Stewart, 26, male, African-American      8/20/07     Shooting     PPR 42
     Steven R. Bolen, 43, male, European-American      5/22/07     Shooting death     PPR 42

2006

     Dupree Carter, 23, male, African American      12/28/06     Shooting (no hits)     PPR 41
     David Earl Hughes, 52, male, European-American      11/12/06     Shooting death     PPR 40
     James Philip Chasse, Jr., 42, male, European-American, mentally disabled/schizophrenia      9/17/06
         Death in custody (after Taser)     PPR 40
     Scott Vincent Suran, 44, male, European-American      8/28/06     Shooting     PPR 40
     Jerry Goins, 37, male, European-American      7/19/06     Shooting ("suicide")     PPR 39
     Timothy Grant, 46, male, European-American      3/20/06     Death in custody (after Taser)     PPR 38
     Dennis Lamar Young, 28, male, European-American      1/4/06     Shooting death    PPR 38

2005

     Raymond Dwayne Gwerder, 30, male, European-American      11/4/05     Shooting death    PPR 37
     Marcello Vaida,18, male, African American      10/12/05     Shooting     PPR 37
    Vernon Allen, 48, male, African American      5/19/05     Shooting death    PPR 36
    Gilbert Thomas King, 35    3/28/05     Shooting (no hits)    PPR 35
    Ronald Richard Riebling, Jr., 40, male, European American    3/20/05    Shooting death    PPR 35
    Dwayne Richard Novak, 39, male, white    3/12/05     Shooting death    PPR 35
    John M. Vitale, 49, male      2/26/04     Shooting      PPR 35
    Lee Harrison Hardman, 36, male    2/6/05    Shooting (no hits)    PPR 35

2004

     Willie Thomas Grigsby, 24, male, African American     12/2/04     Shooting death     PPR 34
     Bruce Perison Clark, 39, European-American      11/22/04     Shooting death     PPR 34
     James Jahar Perez, 28, African American     3/28/04     Shooting death     PPR 32, 33
     Jose Angel Padilla, 22, of Yakima      1/3/04     Shooting death     PPR 32

2003

     Shane Eric Clements, 25     12/24/03     Shooting death     PPR 32
     Eddie Homsombath, 19, Laotian- American     10/21/03     Shooting ("suicide")     PPR 31
     Kendra James, 21, female, African-American      5/5/03     Shooting death     PPR 30
     Steffen Wesley Redincer, male, 28, "transient"     3/2/03     Shooting     PPR 29

2002

     Justin Lee Sawtelle, male, 27     12/13/02     Shooting (no hits)     PPR 28
     Russel Stoneking, 26     10/26/02     Shooting (no hits)     PPR 35
     Dustin Tyler Gomez, male, 16     10/18/02     Shooting     PPR 28
     Jeremy Joseph Christian, male, 20      5/12/02      Shooting     PPR 28
     Anthony Utah-Zona Beck, male, 29      4/14/02      Shooting death     PPR 27
     Byron Hammick, 26, male, African- American     2/22/02     Shooting death     PPR 26, 27
     Rich Lochner, male     2/21/02     Shooting (no hits)     PPR 26, 27

2001

     Daniel Cromb--male, white, 23     12/9/01     Shooting death     PPR 26
     Randolph Marion Martin, male, 41      12/8/01     Shooting     PPR 26
     Tyrone Waters, male, 36, African- American     9/17/01     Shooting (no hits but beanbags)     PPR 25
     Bruce Browne, male, African American     7/11/01     Shooting     PPR 24, 25
     Raymond Leonard Youngberg, Jr., male, mental "illness", 50      7/9/01     Shooting death     PPR 24, 25
     José Santos Victor Mejía Poot, male, Mayan-Mexican, epilepsy, 29     4/1/01      Shooting death     PPR 24, 25
     David Gildersleeve, male, 34     2/22/01     Shooting     PPR 23
     James Farmer, male, 34     2/15/01     Shooting     PPR 23
     Dwayne Tyrone McClinton, male, African American, 23     1/11/01     Shooting     PPR 23

2000

     Sean Joseph Cook--male, 26     12/28/00     Shooting     PPR 23
     Michael Jaquith--male, European-American, 34     12/18/00     Shooting death     PPR 23
     Daniel Brink--male, 20     11/6/00     Shooting     PPR 22
     Justyn Galegos, male, 19     10/2/00     Shooting death     PPR 22
     Lawrence Ramirez--male, 50     8/25/00     Shooting     PPR 22
     George Waldum--male, 71     8/23/00     Shooting death     PPR 22
     James Lamberson--male, 54     5/12/00     Shooting     PPR 21
     Joaquim Angel Vasquez     2/15/00     Shooting     --
Back to top

1999

     Damon Lowery--male, 29     12/5/99     Death in custody     20, PPR 21
     ? Solarzano     11/5/99     Shooting     --
     Duane White, Jr--male     9/23/99     Shooting     PPR 19
     Anthony Falsetto--male     8/24/99     Shooting     PPR 19
     Richarn Lynn Smith--male     8/18/99     Shooting?-unclear if officer fired gun     PPR 19
     ? Brown     7/21/99     Shooting     --
     David Cassel--male, 38     7/15/99     Shooting?     PPR 18
     Jeffrey Samuel Chilson--male, 34      6/19/99     Shooting     PPR 18
     ? Cramer     6/8/99     Shooting     --
     Raul Mora--male     6/4/99     Shooting     PPR 18
     Quinton Keppinger--male, 31     3/12/99     Shooting     PPR 18
     ? Donnely     3/12/99     Shooting     --

1998

     Peter Gilbaugh, 44, male, white      12/31/98     Shooting death     PPR 17
     ? McCoy     12/6/98     Shooting     --
     Richard "Dickie" Dow, 37, male, white, developmentally disabled/paranoid schizophrenia    10/19/98
        Death after beating   PPR 16
     Travis Hunt, 21, male and Douglas Thiebault      9/14/98     Off-duty shooting     PPR 16
     Unidentified male, "transient", had blue paint on face     8/21/98     Beanbag shooting     PPR 16
     Travis West, 31, male, African American     8/17/98     Beanbag shooting     PPR 16
     Brian Penton, 29, male, African American, "healthy"; from Tacoma     5/31/98      Death in custody      PPR 15
     Benjamin Allen Skinner     5/31/98     Shooting + beanbag shooting      PPR 15
     Danyale Gill, 22     5/23/98     Shooting     PPR 17
     ? Thai     3/14/98     Shooting     --
     Aaron Rahmaan, 19, male, African American     1/27/98     Shooting death     PPR 14
     Stephen Douglas Dons, male, white      1/27/98     Shooting, death in custody (later)     PPR 14
     Leopoldo Lucio, 26     1/26/98     Shooting     PPR 14

1997

     ? Yew     10/17/97     Shooting     --
     Bill Utton, male, 65     9/23/97     Shooting death     PPR 13
     Ronald Barton, 51     8/24/97     Shooting     PPR 13, 20
     Robert Dean Bliss, "Car prowler"      7/12/97     Shooting     PPR 12
     Officer Stephen Gomez's wife--name unknown     6/1/97     Off-duty shooting      PPR 12
     Denning, male, on bicycle     4/29/97     Shooting     PPR 12
     Rodger Allen Rosling, 38     3/26/97     Shooting     PPR 12
     ? Sample     1/10/97     Shooting     --

1996

     Patricia Sweany, female, "mentally challenged"     12/14/96     Shooting death     PPR 14
     E. Jean Emerson--female, deceased      12/13/96     Wrongful death (high speed chase)     --
     Edward Tramazzo, 28     11/23/96     Shooting     --
     Charles Michel, Jr     9/29/96     Shooting death     --
     Lynn Marc Kibbee, 31, male, white      6/2/96     Shooting death     --
     Deontae Keller, 20, male, African American     2/28/96     Shooting death     PPR 9

1995

Timothy Mathers 12/6/95 Shooting --
Gregory Michael McClung, 42, male 7/25/95 Shooting (no hits) --***

1994

     Ivan Lee Dixon, 19, African American     12/20/94     Shooting     --
     Charles Ray Burke, 20, male     12/12/94     Shooting death     --
     ? (name unknown)     12/9/94     Shooting     --
     Gail Moody, 52, female     8/24/94     Shooting death     --
     Charles Glenn Ferguson ("Jim Malone"), 57, male, Bank robbery suspect      6/23/94     Shooting     PPR 3
     Todd K Calhoun, 34, male     4/11/94     Shooting     --
     Jason K Gillett     4/10/94     Shooting death     --

1993

     Duane Anthony Shaw, 20, male, European American      9/14/93      Shooting death
     Gerald F. Gratton, Jr., male, African American      7/19/93      Shooting
     Unnamed bank robbery suspect      6/18/93      Shooting
     Lewis Patrick Clark, 41, male      6/2/93      Shooting death

1992

     James B Jennings      12/14/92      Shooting
     Robert Allen Peterson, 41, male      9/13/92      Shooting death
     (Name unknown)      8/31/92      Shooting
     Dell Aaron Youngblood, 22, male      7/14/92      Shooting death
     Fred Gudmenson, 29, male      5/26/92      Shooting death
     Charles Harbin, 31, male      4/19/92      Shooting
     Jerome R. Remington, 27, male      4/9/92      Shooting
     Kenneth A. Hendershot, 43, male      2/7/92      Shooting
     Sean T. Oxley, 18, male      1/24/92      Shooting
     Richard Wesley Gnewich, 50, male      1/23/92      Shooting
     Nathan Thomas, 12, male, European-American      1/16/92      Shooting death
     Bryan T. French, 20, male      1/16/92      Shooting death



Portland Copwatch
   (a project of {Peace and Justice Works)
   PO Box 42456
   Portland, OR  97242
   (503) 236-3065 (office)
   (503) 321-5120 (incident report line)
   copwatch@portlandcopwatch.org
   http://www.portlandcopwatch.org

FIVE CITIZEN REVIEW COMMITTEE
MEMBERS RESIGN IN PROTEST
Shortly After First Appeal Goes to City Council

In a surprise move, five members of the nine-member Citizen Review Committee (CRC), which hears appeals of cases of alleged police misconduct, resigned to protest what they called a "mockery" and a "sham" system. Chair Hector López, Vice Chair Denise Stone, longtime activist TJ Browning and new members Mia Butbaugh and Doug Montgomery all read prepared statements at the August 19 meeting, denouncing the lack of support for their efforts to fulfill what they believed the City had asked them to do.

The members emphasized, as they had at their June 21 retreat, that the Independent Police Review Division (IPR), which is the parent bureau to the CRC, does not provide them enough staff support, especially in instances when the Director disagees with the decisons they make.

The resignataions came shortly after the first CRC appeal went to City Council. The case of Merrick Bonneau (2002-x-017), in which he was mistaken for his larger, white half-brother and roughed up while being arrested, was heard on August 13. Under a protocol written by IPR Director Richard Rosenthal (who claims it was written by City Council, even though the hearing is, by the ordinance, to be conducted by the CRC), the IPR, CRC and Internal Affairs sent three-page summaries to the Council for review. On the two allegations of unreasonable arrest and incomplete reports (see PPR #29), the Bureau offered to move the findings from "Exonerated" to "Insufficient Evidence" (rather than "Sustained" as recommended by the CRC). These findings were changed prior to the Council hearing as a conciliatory gesture, rather than a result of applying the facts of the investigation to the Bureau's directives. This is a particularly odd finding (that maybe the officers did commit misconduct), considering that the Chief claims the officers acted entirely within Bureau policy. Since Rosenthal made it clear he did not agree with the CRC's decision, he used his allegedly "neutral" summary to make his opinion clear to Council. And, since Council made it clear they do not want to hear these cases now that they have final say over the Chief, they upheld the Bureau's findings. (Commissioner Erik Sten voted "no" on the second finding, stating he believes the officers were required to write the full reports.)

[Officer Clifton and Sgt King at
Bonneau Hearing]
Portland Police Association President Robert King stated that the CRC was violating the City Code because they had decided to hear Bonneau's appeal after initially rejecting it and because "no majority" had voted to send the appeal to Council. Nothing in the code bars reconsideration, though the City Attorney has cited case law implying public bodies only have 60 days to reverse decisions (this was used as a means to squash hearing the Mejía beating case, and was brought up in Bonneau's case for the first time by Mayor Katz and Rosenthal at the Council Hearing). As for the "no majority" claim, five CRC members voted to change both findings in question and all eight members present voted to send the case to Council.

King also blatantly exposed the City's desire to keep the CRC toothless when he stated: "The CRC promised to us by the Auditor was an objective committee that would fairly consider facts and make recommendations to the Bureau or to you, the Council, but instead we have in this case, citizen advisors ignoring the ordinance to affirm a reasonable decision from the Police Bureau and instead substituting their own judgment." We guess that means the citizens are expected to go along with whatever the Bureau says.

In May, the CRC decided to hold a full hearing in case 2003-x-011, involving a man who was thrown to the ground by police after stepping off a Tri-Met bus. Even though the bus driver and other witnesses stated they did not think the man posed a threat to officers, the Bureau exonerated the police. One reason may be that the complaint was categorized based only on the allegation that the officer roughed up the appellant because he recognized him from previous encounters, instead of the possible excessive use of force. The hearing was postponed indefinitely in July.

The CRC then declined a full hearing for a man who claimed he was falsely arrested after a domestic violence report made at a gas station (2003-x-012). Even though there were contested facts in the case (whether a witness assaulted the appellant and whether the police laughed at him), the CRC seemed so distracted by the issue of whether the appellant had hit his wife that they did not examine the behavior of the police, the purpose of a police review board.

In June, the CRC held a full hearing for a young man who said the police had failed to cite the driver and conduct a complete investigation when a car hit him while he was holding a stop sign to flag traffic (case 2003-x-008). Because he was not a state employee, and because current protocols do not require police to cite someone (even if there is a death), the officers who came to the scene and let the driver go were not disciplined. Traffic commander Mike Garvey reported that there was no point in pursuing the complaint that the other officer failed to follow up to see how badly the young man had been injured, because that officer retired.

The CRC affirmed the Bureau's findings despite an eloquent plea from the young man's minister father, who complained that there would have been more investigation if his son had been a police officer or had been killed (his son was thrown 40 feet down the street and suffered a brain injury, two broken legs and a broken hand). They apologized to the young man, saying they were unable to do anything else given their limited powers. The only slightly hopeful outcome was that Garvey agreed the protocols were bad and needed rewriting.

The other CRC meetings were mostly taken up with discussions of policies and protocols. The June 21 retreat ended with the CRC deciding that they would nominate the new members of their Committee and eliminate "pre-hearings" (in which they decide whether to hold a full hearing). The first vote provoked the Auditor and the Director to change City Code (see other article). The latter vote resulted in a clunky, dangerously private system to review cases to decide whether to hold hearings on them.

Under the new system, Director Rosenthal prepares a case file for the CRC to review. The nine members are all expected to visit the office and mark "yes" or "no" to a hearing. If just three say "yes," a hearing will be held. The problems with this system include that many appellants will never get the opportunity to address the committee, there will be no public discussion of their cases, and, as far as we can tell, there is no set criteria for rejecting appeals. In other words, a person's appeal can be rejected just because seven people don't read the case or don't feel like hearing it (or, for that matter, if the case file is misleading or incomplete).

One of the CRC's two public forums was co-sponsored by the Portland State U. Latino activist group MEChA. On June 2, a ten-member panel discussed police shooting policies in light of the José Mejía Poot and the more recent Kendra James cases (see article). Roughly 70 people turned out and, despite a lively discussion, it is unclear whether this forum will do anything to affect policy. As with the CRC's two hearings last September (see PPR #28), the public's input has not resulted in any proposals from the CRC to the Bureau.

The second forum was held two days before the retreat to hear concerns about the structure of the IPR. A major theme was that the IPR is not doing what citizens want in terms of holding police accountable, being open and transparent, and improving police policy.

The dispute about choosing new members of the CRC was the subject of an article in Willamette Week (July 23). The article exposed Rosenthal and Blackmer as biased and uninterested in promoting change. Rosenthal told WW that when considering nominees, Blackmer "will be looking at whether or not the applicants will be willing to work within the law, within the confines of what City Council determined they wanted the CRC to be." This ignores both the huge community outcry that led to the CRC replacing the old system, PIIAC, in 2000-2001, and the fact that the "confines" of the ordinance are a matter of narrow interpretation by the Auditor's office, not clear legal restrictions.

Blackmer criticized member Browning, claiming her "main achievement" has been "drawing attention to herself and her ideology." Blackmer seemed to imply that Browning is "anti-police," but her history as a community activist, her speeches and her voting record demonstrate otherwise.

The highlight of the article is a quote from Sam Walker, a national expert on review boards, who expressed concern that people would not be allowed to continue as a volunteer if they worked to improve the CRC by gaining more independence. "They have the right to do that, I mean, that's their job," Walker told WW.

The new members will be announced sometime in September and sworn in this October. Now that the Committee (which already agrees with the police in about 80% of all cases) has been stripped of its more vocal members, the City will probably be facing the same major mobilization that led to the creation of the IPR, and maybe even a new ballot measure within months.

Many people suspect that the City created the IPR as a way to quiet critics of the old system. Even though the City helped organize the five-hour community forum on Kendra James, the CRC was not mentioned until the community panel spoke near the end. Similarly, the City's new team reviewing police policies invited Director Rosenthal to participate, but no members of the CRC. With police misconduct in the news so much, the City should have supported the CRC when they had the chance.

For more information call the IPR at 503-823-0146 or the Auditor at 503-823-4078.

People's Police Report #30 Table of Contents
People's Police Report Index Page
Return to Copwatch home page

Off Duty Portland Cop Kills Man at Front Door
DA Refuses Grand Jury on August Shooting; Oregon Area Cops Continue to Shoot

We only have one Portland shooting incident to report on for this four-month period: off-duty Sgt. Gregory Stewart (#32025) shot and killed Jeffrey Dean Turpin, 42, outside Stewart's Scappoose home on October 5. Sadly, another person in psychological crisis needed help and instead ended up dead at the hands of law enforcement. Sadder still, six Scappoose police officers and two St. Helens officers had been following Turpin around for 40 minutes, talking to him and keeping him from shooting himself with his own gun. When Turpin made the mistake of pounding on a random door that had a Portland policeman behind it, he ended up dead.

Stewart's neighbors described Turpin as "angry and erratic." They said he was muttering to himself "this is a bad situation" as he wrapped himself in one resident's flag and complained of the cold. It appears he banged on Stewart's door, took a few steps away, then when Stewart opened the door, Turpin may have turned back toward the house before the off-duty Sergeant fired three times (Oregonian, October 6). There was no indication whether Stewart, who currently works on the Domestic Violence Unit, had Crisis Intervention Team training. We have not seen any follow-up stories to let us know if Stewart faces criminal charges, though he was placed on administrative leave following the incident.

The previous Portland-based shooting, when Lesley Stewart (no relation) was hit in the head by glass or by an AR-15 assault rifle bullet on August 20 (PPR #42), was not reviewed for criminal conduct by the District Attorney. Assistant DA Traci Anderson said they would not review a shooting "if no one was hurt" (Oregonian, August 28). Portland Copwatch and the NW Constitutional Rights Center sent a letter to DA Mike Schrunk pointing out not only that Mr. Stewart was injured, but that Officer Stephanie Rabey's action of using deadly force could be criminal if there was no reasonable suspicion that someone's life was in imminent danger. Stewart's girlfriend, who called the police, and her 21-year-old son left the apartment four minutes prior to the shooting, and no gun was found in the apartment (Oregonian, August 21 and 22).

Although the SERT Team was mobilized, Rabey (#29993) is a regular patrol officer. Also, despite the similarity between this case and the shooting of Raymond Gwerder, the Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT) was not involved (according to Chief Sizer). This seems strange, since Gwerder was alone, while Stewart's girlfriend and her son were considered hostages.

There have been just two on-duty shootings in Portland this year, but officers in other jurisdictions continue to use deadly force.

for details checkout http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/copwatch

--On August 28, Clackamas County Deputy Robert Nashif shot and killed Shawn DeVoe Mosley, 48, during a traffic stop. Mosley allegedly shot a gun at Nashif, who was not injured (Oregonian, September 28).

--Washington County Tactical Negotiations Team members "mistakenly opened fire at an officer from another unit during a Sept. 6 raid on a Yamhill County marijuana field." The raid was led by the Yamhill County Interagency Narcotics Team, moving in on a campsite in a wooded area. Washington County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. David Thompson said "we try to learn" from incidents like this (Oregonian, September 21).

--On November 10, two Josephine County Sheriff's Deputies shot and killed Paul Harrison Chesser, 66, when he allegedly refused to drop a handgun and apparently exchanged fire with them (Oregonian, November 14).

--On November 24, Washington County Corporals Steve Schuster and Mark Trost shot and killed Steve G. Stanturf, 37, when the Sheriff's Office came to his house for the second time that day. Stanturf, who had no criminal record, apparently had quite a few guns and had fired two of the weapons before the officers killed him (Oregonian, November 25 & Hillsboro Argus, November 30).

more information: http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/PPR43/shootings43.html

To the Independent Police Review Division,
Citizen Review Committee and Police Bureau:

Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action. As part of Peace and Justice Works, PCW adheres to principles of non-violence. Copwatch is a movement, not a franchise. Check with us to see if a copwatcher you encounter is with PCW.

PORTLAND POLICE SHOOTINGS AND DEATHS IN CUSTODY 1992-December 2018