Portland police investigating the fatal shooting of Darryel Dwayne Ferguson last December have recovered security footage of the incident previously thought unavailable. The video was copied Friday, May 6, from a hard drive owned by Robert "BA" Amsden, manager of the apartment complex where Ferguson lived. The footage could shed new light on what happened outside Ferguson's apartment. Ferguson was shot by two officers, the only witnesses to the event, who told a grand jury he opened his door and pointed a replica handgun at one of their heads ["Knock, Knock... You're Dead," News, Jan 13]. Amsden initially told detectives that the recording equipment had malfunctioned. This week, he told the Mercury he's watched the footage but refused to describe what he saw. An attorney working with Ferguson's live-in girlfriend, Marsha Lawson—who has questioned how officers handled the incident—tipped the police. DENIS C. THERIAULT

Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen last Thursday, May 5, submitted his best guess at a spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1, reducing administrative costs and management positions to balance a $410 million general fund budget without making any substantive service cuts—yet. Cogen, in fact, managed to squirrel money away for a rainy day and increase cash for homelessness prevention and other programs. But that good news may prove fleeting. Cash from Salem and Washington, DC, accounts for as much as 30 percent of Multnomah County's revenue, and budgets built around deep cuts are expected from both this summer. DCT

After years of battling with heroin addiction, Commissioner Randy Leonard's 31-year-old daughter, Kara Marie Leonard, killed herself Sunday, May 8, in a remote part of the Columbia River Gorge, officials confirmed the next day. Leonard's office told reporters he would be clearing his schedule over the next several days to spend time with his family and help make funeral arrangements. "Tragically, she was not able to overcome her addiction," Leonard's chief of staff, Ty Kovatch, said in a statement. "Her family hopes that her life can help others find the inspiration they need to escape from the vicious cycle of addiction." Leonard had publicly spoken about his daughter's struggles, including in a 2007 documentary that featured her, along with other Central City Concern clients, as she worked to get sober. DCT