A grand jury today found no criminal wrongdoing in the January 31 police shooting of Anthony McDowell, a Gresham veteran who was reportedly suicidal.
According to partial accounts of the shooting so far—grand jury transcripts could emerge as soon as next week—McDowell’s wife had called police that night and reported her husband was suicidal. A Gresham police spokesman said afterward that McDowell had come out of the house while holding a rifle and was subsequently shot in the chest.
But the family has disputed that account, according to the Oregonian. They say McDowell, a 50-year-old veteran beloved in his community, didn’t realize two cops were outside his home when he stepped out, and that he was holding the rifle above his head, not threatening anyone with it.
The two officers have been identified as Jason Justus and Matthew Galbreath. Longtime readers of the Mercury may remember Justus. When Gresham’s only black police officer, Sonata Kerbs, filed a discrimination complaint back in 2009, Justus was among the cops accused of using such virulent racial language that Kerbs said it “threatens to make my job a hostile work environment.”
My opinion on this is adequately reflected in this five second youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6_1Pw1xm9U
Please excuse me while I go lock the doors and remind my friends and family to never call the police no matter what.
So…there was an investigation, and a Grand Jury of objective, uninvolved people was convened, and they spent who knows how many days reviewing all of the evidence (which you haven’t done!) and they deliberated among themselves before reaching this conclusion…and that’s still not good enough for you, Number 6? Without seeing that evidence or hearing those arguments or being involved at all, you’re still sticking with “the police are bad! I just KNOW it?”
Someone posted on another article today: reason < EMOTION. But stop getting your ignorant emotion all over everything, okay? And after you lock your doors and turn off your phone? Go fuck yourself.
Hey, Reymont, what’s your home address? I’m worried about you, buddy. I was thinking of calling the local police and letting them know you seem a little distraught and unstable what with all your all-caps and ranting. Someone should do a little welfare check. You have a knife in your kitchen, right? Do you own a gun? I need to know so I can let them know that before they knock on your door. We want them to be ready, right?
I’m not saying that there definitely should have been an indictment, I’m just saying that when you hear an officer was involved in injuring or killing a person in this town, you can predict with 100% accuracy that there will not be an indictment or criminal charges brought against the officer regardless of the other circumstances in the case. You might as well stop reading after you finish the headline ‘Man Killed By Police Officer’ and the DA should just save everyone some time and say ‘Let’s just all pretend we had a grand jury hearing and call it a no-true-bill.’