After pulling into a retail parking lot, officers say that Perez failed to produce his driver's license. What happened next is curious; apparently, one officer fired multiple bullets into the vehicle and then tasered him twice. He died from a bullet wound to the chest.
According to preliminary information, Perez was still wearing his seatbelt at the time of the shooting, casting doubt that he could have been struggling with the police. The first reports from the scene said the officers believed Perez had a gun. But a witness who was at a nearby laundromat quickly dispelled that information, saying for certain that the man did not reach for a weapon.
Last May 5, rookie officer Scott McCollister shot 21-year-old Kendra James in the back at a traffic stop. In part, that shooting led to Police Chief Mark Kroeker's forced resignation. Residents were furious after a grand jury excused McCollister based on testimony many community leaders found suspicious, and Kroeker handed the officer a five-month suspension. Many found this punishment woefully inadequate--but it is believed the Portland Police Association found the penalty too severe, and apparently leaned on Mayor Katz to force Kroeker out.
At the time, an independent study of police shootings in Portland pointed out many flaws in subsequent investigations, and concluded that the police "fail to learn from their mistakes." The Police Association has already stated their reluctance to allow any sort of public hearing into the most recent shooting, preferring again a closed-door grand jury inquest.
