I am Nicks Biological mother. Yes most of what was said above was true. I have been thru a lot with Nick, but he was a funny, artistic, loving child, and grew up to be the same way as an adult.. I always thought he should have been an author because he could make up some brilliant , interesting stories. He also was a very cute child. And a very handsome young man. And loved Jesus with a passion. It is so sad, and tragic that this mentally unique individual had to meet his death in such a brutal, senseless way. This is modern times. Why are people being shot like its the Wild West days. There are other ways of handling situations like this now.i feel sgt Robert Brown was mad that he tripped backwards so he took it out on my son. I've heard two different stories now. And of course I'm sure the cops are going to make up whatever they can to make themselves look justified for what they did. Sometimes I feel safer out there with the thugs then I do. The cops anymore.at least you kinda know which way the thugs are coming from.my son did not have to live in Portland. He was not homeless. He was not a drug user. He stayed a week with us in Newport prior to this sad heartbreaking. Incident. Friends loved him. Teachers at serendipity school loved him. He will be missed deeply.the part that was wrong about the above story is At the time of the knife incident Nick did not break into the house. He was living with us, had his own room. Nick didnt like my caregiver and I couldn't blame him, Steve hall was always saying mean rude things about both us behind our backs. Nick got tired of it he showed a knife but he got no where near Steve with the knife. He was having an episode but when he lived with me he said he was taking his meds but at 18 I couldn't control whether he did or not.. The knife incident was a call for help for attention. And the cops that arrested him did the right thing they knew Nick had mental issues and had a ambulance waiting to take him to the psych unit to get back on the correct lithium levels. The same thing should have happened here and the Portland police know it. But they think their going to squirm and worm their way out of it. I am seeking justice for my son, and all of thee other mentally unique individuals who died at the hands of uncaring police. Justice For Nick!!!

Donna, don't mean to be disrespectful but are you going to sue the police department for money? Is that what you mean by justice for Nick? Just curious.

Go Fuck yourself @i'mrightyourwrong The police are constantly killing civilians and saying oh I was afraid. He didn't comply, Boom dead. Again and again the same story. No excuses the police shouldn't have live ammunition anymore. Rubber bullets for the scared toddlers who can't stop killing people without guns. Then spend all your time justifying why they had a clean shot. FUCK YOU. The have batons, mace, cuffs, tazers, "Training" and guns. Why time and time again they always drop the guns and shoot to kill every time. No less than lethal options. They said one of the officers had taken him to the ground but then what? Got scared when he got back up? Gimme a fucking break. Why can't The Police subdue a threat without guns?? They do it in other countries. I don't care if there is an armed response team with guns but should be reserved for incidents involving actual confirmed guns. These regular police that keep shooting unarmed and sometimes restrained, cuffed, and most importantly UNARMED. (This Means Firearms) Cause if you can't handle anything less without a gun YOU DON'T DESERVE A BADGE. Most encounters by police will not involve firearms and they keep shooting us! The civilians that are supposed too protect. NO MORE LIVE AMMO FOR IRRESPONSIBLE PEACE OFFICERS. RUBBER BULLETS, BEAN BAGS. STOP KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE.

P.S. @i'mrightyourwrong Yeah she should sue them for killing her son. For all the money. Stupid fucking prick.

Not to be disrespectful Donna, but when you say mentally unique, are you alluding to violent bipolar people or... ? What would you have thought if he had hit that officer with the crowbar and seriously wounded him? Would you be talking about justice for the officer? You say that you want justice for your son, but why not understanding for the officers who were protecting themselves and others the minute your retarded violent son started swinging a crowbar around?

This is Nicks mom. This is in response to the comment are you suing the police department? Is that what you mean by justice. No my plans are not to sue the police. That's not the issue. I am just trying to bring to light that my son did not have to die. The police could have handled it so much differently, and I would be going to see him at the hospital. Instead of planning a funeral. Now some witnesses are saying he didnt have a crowbar.i am tired of the mentally unique being shot or and shot and killed by police officers. All they had to do was run his name, and they would have known he had mental issues. Nick also was not homeless he has a bay front suite in Newport where I live, but he liked to go to Portland where all his buddy's lived. I was planning on picking him up by July 3 rd. nick was well liked he was bright, funny, artistic. He had a future ahead of him despite his bipolar ADHD tendency s. I am angry and sad at the same time. And we will get justice for Nick , and others like him.

If he had a bay front suite in Newport how come people are crowdfunding a funeral for him? Honest question.

I experienced police brutality on behalf of PPD and suing them has nothing to do with money it has to do with accountability. Nothing will ever bring him back sadly. My younger sister who is mentally ill was a minor at the time (15) she had an episode so 911 was called , we requested only EMT service as the police would just escalate the situation. Of course Portland Police showed up drove over the parking lot and drove across a courtyard right up to the front porch and wasted no time handcuffing her and then hog tied her after she started kicking her legs. There are so many other stories and so many senseless deaths particularly with the homeless, mentally ill and minority populations on behalf of the Portland Police Dept.

When people say , "not to be disrespectable" , basically means I'm going to be disrespectful

Hey @boltaction. Researching private information on the deceased is pretty tasteless and completely irrelevant. Not too be disrespectful but your kind of a douchebag. Thats where the "TRAINING" Should kick in. taking a crowbar attack sounds like just another occupational hazard and not an excuse to shoot to kill. Also don't call people retarded. Fucktard.

To answer question I never asked for help until Nicks friends put it on Facebook because I will pay for nicks service our gas etc out of my own money. The donations people made one is nicks brother Matt will probably only cover cost of flowers. I can't believe you would bitch at me at a time like this. Do you have a heart anywhere in your body??? And I'm not saying the officer shouldn't have protected himself. But some witnesses are now saying nick didnt have a crowbar , and even if he did with the one report saying There was around 20 police officers standing out there you would think one of them could have figured something out. Officer Brown also could have shot his arm leg anything instead of the chest. My son was not a retard. ASSHOLE!

iziah whatever your name is. You yourself don't have any issues do you? Or do you always interact on the internet in ways that most people would get their ass kicked for in real life? (or ironically get into situations with the authorities).

I want to see a parent whose child was killed by the police, who is willing to pursue a case against them. A parent who is willing to never stop talking about what happened, reminding the community that a grave error was made, and demand that the officer loses his badge at least and is prosecuted at best. But to do so, it appears the parent must be willing to not accept their hush money and not agree to the gag order that comes attached. The parent here has every right to pursue a settlement, and that is her choice to make. But when a monetary settlement is made, it is not talked about again publicly due to the terms of the settlement. I want to see a brave parent refuse their hush money and talk about it publicly. Maybe then a difference could be made. Maybe then the PPD will do something to redress their flawed and negligent actions towards people with mental health issues. We all have someone in our families with mental health issues. www.copblock.org, www.facebook.com/CopBlock, www.flexyourrights.org, www.facebook.com/FlexYourRights, http://www.policemisconduct.net

Such a sad story for everyone involved, such a young boy. Heartbreaking. Just a thought! The Oregon lottery promised to put the money towards schools and roads, which has not happen. I believe we need to petition that money to opening up our mental hospitals again. I spent a few days downtown this week. It's so sad that the mentally ill are walking our streets... Alone! It's not fair. They need to be taken care of. Given the proper meds and supervision. When all the hospitals closed 15 years ago they were sent to the streets. It's not thier fault. I can guarantee I have a huge group of friends that would volunteer to help every day. They need help and this is coming from someone who takes meds everyday for thier mental disorders. It's a chemical problem in our brain. I'm thankful I have had family to keep me on track. Most of the transients out there do not. We need to help them... I always said if I won the lottery I'd build them a home and get them some help. People with mental illness need help. It's not there fault. They can be helped.. Hello Portland.. It's time!!!

Nicks mom again, NO I do not get in trouble with authority's or do my straight A college student son or my beautiful smart daughter. You still don't get it. Nick was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was the one afraid he was going to get robbed. You need to shut your mouth about things , and people you know nothing about. Imrightyourwrong.

I am that parent Tacos, I do not want the police depts blood money like I said before. And we're not going to stop talking about my son, or the other mentally unique people who are shot unnecessarily by cops all over the USA. Justice For Nick.!!!

Nick's Mom: I want to apologize on behalf of the ignorant insensitive commentors on here. peace to you and your family.

@Donna, I am sorry that you lost a family member. That said, women have been coming up on Portland Police facebook wall and saying your son would terrorize and sexually harass them until they finally had to call the cops, then your son showed up at their door 7 years later looking for the same women (according to the victims friend) as if nothing happened. Justice was served when the officer fired his pistol. Your son was violent and had a history of dangerous actions. You even admitted that he flashed a knife at his own stepfather.

This idea that American society has about only speaking respectfully of the dead is bullshit. If someone did bad things in life that does not preclude them from criticism after their death. If you were really brave, Donna, you would admit that your son was responsible for his own death and reflect on his violent past. No one can tell you that you don't love your son unconditionally, which I absolutely respect, but we can tell you that your son was more than capable of bad things.

Yes, history of violence:

http://imgur.com/1xwyNh3

Screenshot of someone claiming he assaulted her. Pulled a knife and was found guilty, swung a crowbar at officers... need I go on? Don't shit all over this place like the guy was innocent. He was dangerous and got stupid at the wrong time and paid for it. Thankfully the officers are OK and didn't get seriously injured.

And for all those whining about the police here in Portland, Or: I bet none of you have stepped foot in parts of the south, let alone a 2nd or 3rd world country. This place is a fuckin' paradise. Do you know what cops do to people in south America? The police did their jobs and acted in the interest of their training and society that day.

Look... I think police officers have done some unacceptable things in the past. I also believe in the police being held accountable for any transgressions of the law. I'm a firm proponent of filming officers (In a way that is from a short distance and with respect! Cops are people and deserve to be treated like humans.) and having onboard recording devices on their person to protect the social contract we give them and expect.

We can easily bring up situations where an officer acted in a way that breaks that social contract and did harm to the force and innocent people. This situation was tragic and I don't think I should have been so cruel to his mother here. Donna, please accept my apologies. You lost a son and I am just sitting here behind a keyboard like an asshole. You deserved to be treated with more respect.

If this man came after a uniformed officer with a crowbar, and the officer fell down during said altercation, you have a person trained to respond with deadly force in a situation like that - put in a compromising position. I'm not an officer, I don't have officers in my family. I've done some reading, which doesn't mean anything. Cops in the US are trained that when you go for less than lethal force against assailants with lethal force, officers die. Painfully. Without good reason. Officers are put in very serious situations that ask them to make very quick decisions. Put yourself in the assailants position. You have officers with guns aimed at you, who probably don't know you. You've got a 3 foot crowbar in your hand and pointing the business end at them. If one fell down, what should you do? Drop that crowbar. Anything less puts you at serious risk of being killed. Mental illness is a very bad problem downtown. This man seems to have been mentally ill. He should have gotten more help from us. In that respect Portland failed this young man. But we did not swing that crowbar! He did. He is responsible for that.

He put himself in a very dangerous position against officers trained not to take chances. He was shot, and died. That officer probably doesn't like knowing he killed a human. Maybe the cop wanted to kill him, who knows. Either way, that officer was trained to do that when someone has a deadly weapon. I'm all for mental health assistance. I'm extremely in favor of officers being held responsible. I'm also in favor of citizens being held accountable for their actions.

"Mentally Unique" is that the new euphemism for violent thief? I don't usually back the cops on these things but the more I hear about this guy the more I think our city is better off without him.

Aikdio Vrs Baseball Bat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWy_4qrdm50

If these two nerds can do it, so can the police.

Donna I have sent you a friend request. I would like to give you my phone number. My old man was the other person involved the morning your son was shot. I am very sorry for your loss and to all of you that have opinions about what happened shut the fuck up. You werent there you dont know this family and you have no right to add to their pain and suffering!