Mental Health Association of Portland – Oregon's impartial & Independent advocate
Incidents of the use of overwhelming force by law enforcement including physical violence and firearms
From The Oregonian, August 23, 1994 Shortly before police shot and killed Janet Marilyn Smith on Sunday, the mentally ill young woman stood alone outside her apartment, screaming for help. One hand clutched at her beloved gray Siamese cat named Blue. In the other, Smith held a 6-inch-long knife. And she was screaming, as if […]
From The Oregonian, August 22, 1994 A woman whom witnesses described as deranged but not threatening was shot and killed by a Gresham police officer in the Fred Meyer store at 2497 East Burnside Road shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday. The Multnomah County medical examiner’s office identified her as Janet Marilyn Smith, 28, who lived […]
From The Oregonian, April 14, 1994 Doris H. Finney walked barefoot out her front door and gingerly avoided stray glass from the Monday shooting at her hillside home with a living room view of East Portland. Her son, Todd K. Calhoun, 34, was in critical condition Wednesday in University Hospital with gunshot wounds he suffered […]
Not Available Elsewhere Online – March 5, 1994 | The Oregonian Gerald Frank Gratton Jr. was intoxicated when police were called to quell a disturbance he was causing on the No.4 Fessenden bus July 19. When he saw cops coming, Gratton fled from a rear door and started running on foot near the intersection of […]
From The Oregonian, October 9, 1993 – not available elsewhere online Eds. Note – Officer Erickson was later reinstated by Mayor Katz. Portland Police Chief Charles Moose fired Officer Douglas Erickson on Friday for excessive use of force after the policeman fired 22 shots at a man who ran from a Tri-Met bus in July. […]
Not Available Elsewhere Online – October 9, 1993 | The Oregonian Portland Police Chief Charles Moose fired Officer Douglas Erickson on Friday for excessive use of force after the policeman fired 22 shots at a man who ran from a Tri-Met bus in July. The dismissal of the North Precinct policeman is the first time […]
Not Available Elsewhere Online – July 29, 1993 | The Oregonian A Multnomah County grand jury Wednesday harshly criticized a Portland police officer who fired 23 shots at a fleeing man — and indicted the man. A grand jury indicted Gerald F. Gratton, 27, on charges of unlawful possession of a weapon and being a […]
Not Available Elsewhere Online – July 23, 1993 | The Oregonian Authorities revealed Thursday that the North Portland man shot in the back by police while running away had a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit. Sgt. Derrick Foxworth, spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau, said Gerald Frank Gratton had a blood alcohol level of […]
Not Available Elsewhere Online – July 23, 1993 | The Oregonian Opinion Editorial A key question raised by Monday night’s incident in which Portland police shot 27 times at an armed man fleeing from possible arrest is where all the bullets went. Stray police bullets can kill people just as stray gang bullets do. So […]
Not Available Elsewhere Online – July 22, 1993 | The Oregonian A Portland police officer told investigators that he shot at a fleeing man Monday night because the man was armed with a gun and might have taken a hostage if he had escaped. The man, who was hit in the back and the elbow, […]
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