Portland police officers answering several vandalism and disturbance calls involving a group of kids in downtown St. Johns early Sunday wound up scuffling with—and Tasering—someone they thought was in that group: a 16-year-old African American football player at Roosevelt High School.

Other than the age of the boy who was Tasered, what happened was not all that unusual—even if it's still upsetting to many in the community who've been sharing video of the incident in social media. (And even if that doesn't mean advocates should accept that nothing else should change. Saying something is usual isn't the same as saying something's right—that determination is yet to come in this case.)

Officers use their Tasers on someone one to three times a week, according to police bureau statistics. African American males also make up a disproportionate share of the people on the receiving end of force overall, some 27 percent in the second quarter of 2014. And injuries to officers and the people they fight with are all occasionally bad enough to warrant treatment.

And yet? Perhaps owing to national conversations about police work and race and tensions in the wake of the protests in Ferguson, Missouri—and locally, in light of federal use-of-force reforms that are now, as of August 29, endorsed by a court of law—the police bureau has done something decidedly uncommon.

Instead of merely issuing a statement summarizing the incident, the bureau also proactively shared links to private videos of the incident, released 911 audio, and shared several redacted police reports (pdf) detailing how and why officers thought they were right to use force. It's the kind of thing that usually happens in deadly force cases, and usually only after several days of inquiries and reporting. In this case, the bureau issued the information before anyone even posted stories about what happened. (Normally, even in smaller cases, the bureau will decline to release reports weeks and months later, citing ongoing investigations.)

"This is very unusual," says Dan Handelman of Portland Copwatch. "I can't think of any case where, within two days, we saw this kind of paperwork."

The police bureau has yet to respond to questions asking about the release. But Dana Haynes, a spokesman for police commissioner Mayor Charlie Hales, says Hales' office wasn't part of the decision-making. Haynes said the mayor's police liaison, Deanna Wesson-Mitchell (a former police officer) sent a letter praising the bureau's release after the fact.

"We thought getting the information out with alacrity was smart and a really good idea," Haynes says.

The reports and audio fill in some of what's seen in two Facebook videos that have made the rounds pretty widely in the hours after the incident. Handelman mused whether the police bureau was trying to get ahead of outrage, because of those videos, by working harder than usual to get its side of the story out more quickly. The Mercury (and probably some other outlets) had asked for details only to see the mass release come out this morning.

A status update accompanying one of the videos identifies the boy in the fight as 16-year-old Thai Gurule, a sophomore defensive back/running back for Roosevelt. Thai's brother, Giovanni, also was arrested early Sunday after watching among a group of friends and becoming enraged. Officers also tackled and scuffled with him, at one point, putting their arm around his head and taking him to the ground.



The 911 calls show several people calling about a group of young people roaming out of Cathedral Park, with reports of damage to a vehicle, general noise, a confrontation with a resident who complained that the kids were pulling up a decorative fence in her yard, and an overheard threat that someone was going to potentially shoot someone. They also reveal that the several of the callers reported seeing white kids, or a group of kids from varying ethnicities.

Cops found the kids up near the Burgerville in St. Johns. They say that's when Thai Gurule tried to get away from the cops who'd begun questioning and identifying the suspects. Officers Betsy Hornstein and David Hughes said they grabbed Gurule after he wouldn't submit to handcuffing or take off his backpack. They say he tensed up and that as they tried to bring his arms behind his back, they all fell to the ground after trying to sweep his legs out.

In the ensuing scuffle, which Sergeant Jason Lile said had "the makings of a riot," Hornstein says Gurule twice got his arm around her neck, the second time after she and Lile pinned Gurule against a nearby wall. She says she punched Gurule six to eight times, but with little effect. Later, she says, she was punched in the face. She kneed Gurule when he was against the wall and got out her Taser when that slowed Gurule down. Lile also had his Taser out and said he used it—once, per new policy because of federal reforms—after giving three warnings that he would.

The bureau's statement says Chief Mike Reese "has asked that the Professional Standards Division review this entire incident." Read the statement after the jump.

The Portland Police Bureau is releasing information related to the tasing and arrest of a 16-year-old male that occurred early Sunday morning in North Portland's St. John's Neighborhood.

On Sunday September 14, 2014, just after midnight, North Precinct officers were dispatched to the area of North Philadelphia Avenue and Ivanhoe Street after several calls to 9-1-1 regarding a disturbance, property damage and threats to shoot someone in the area. Officers received information that the group of people was approximately nine African-American males and females.

9-1-1 calls are available at: http://bit.ly/1qFcUD0

Listeners should be aware that there is graphic language contained in some of the 9-1-1 calls.

Arriving officers contacted a group of men and women matching the description of suspects, one of whom was a 16-year-old male. Officers attempting to place him into handcuffs became involved in a struggle with him, which resulted in a sergeant deploying a Taser to overcome the subject's active aggression, including his choking the female officer involved in the struggle.

One cycle of the Taser was effective and officers were able to place the subject into handcuffs. Two officers and a sergeant received minor injuries during this struggle.

After being placed into handcuffs, the 16-year-old male was treated at the scene by Portland Fire & Rescue then transported to a Portland hospital for an examination of a medical condition, before being transported to the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Home on charges of: Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree; Interfering with a Peace Officer; Resist Arrest; Assaulting a Public Safety Officer; Attempted Assault on a Public Safety Officer (two counts); Harassment (three counts); Assault in the Fourth Degree; and Attempted Strangulation.

There were several people in the area during this incident who were very hostile toward officers, including the 16-year-old's brother, 20-year-old Giovanni Dmitri Gurule.

Gurule was arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Jail on charges of Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree, Interfering with a Peace Officer and Resist Arrest.

The Bureau is releasing all reports related to this incident and are available here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/33222788/14-75824/14-75824_Reports_Redacted.pdf?dl=1

The Portland Police Bureau was made aware that two videos have been posted to Facebook from eyewitnesses to the arrest. These two video links are posted below. Viewers should be aware that there is graphic language contained in these video links.

These videos are not maintained by the Portland Police Bureau and the Bureau cannot guarantee they will remain posted publicly.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=338570056320699&set=vb.100005031213697&type=2&theater

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=771744542877143&set=vb.100001248131643&type=2&theater

The Portland Police Bureau requires that all uses of physical force (or complaints of use of physical force) by members of the Bureau be documented and investigated by a supervisor at the time of their occurrence. This investigation is reviewed by the involved member(s) Lieutenant, Captain, Commander, and the member(s) performance against training received prior to the incident.

Chief Mike Reese has asked that the Professional Standards Division review this entire incident.

If there are any additional videos or information regarding this incident, the Bureau would like them sent to the Independent Police Review Division, http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/?c=26646