THE FOURTH FATAL police shooting this year of a Portlander battling mental health issues came in the early hours of Friday, December 17, when 45-year-old Darryel Dwayne Ferguson allegedly brandished a fake gun at officers responding to a 911 call in his apartment complex.
Court records reveal Ferguson, a registered sex offender, had been suffering from depression and anxiety, at times taking medicine for his illnesses, and that he was a medical marijuana patient who had also battled substance abuse. Neighbors tell the Mercury he had cancer and was HIV positive—conditions his sister confirmed to the Oregonian.
His death continues a troubling trend this year for a police bureau that sees a large portion of its calls each day involving someone dealing with, in some fashion, mental illness.
“We as a community have decided that [providing adequate treatment] would be an imprudent financial decision on our part,” says Jason Renaud of the Mental Health Association of Portland. “As a result, the police get to do the dirty work. It doesn’t matter whether they’re equipped. We have dumped the responsibility on them.”
According to police accounts, the fatal incident began about 3 am, when a resident of the Ventura Park Plaza apartments at East Burnside and 122nd reported being harassed by a drunken man. Police spoke with a man in the building but left after deciding tensions had eased. Soon after, the same resident called again, saying the same man had a 9mm gun and had threatened to shoot him. Officers then knocked on Ferguson’s door. He opened it, allegedly while holding a gun, and within seconds was fatally wounded by the officers. The weapon was later found to be a BB gun.
Officers evacuated a toddler and three adults from the apartment. Surrounding neighbors, also evacuated, waited for hours on a TriMet bus as shelter from the cold night.
The police bureau did not release the exact number of wounds Ferguson suffered, but according to autopsy results, Ferguson “died of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen.” One neighbor told the Mercury he heard police say afterward that 20 shots were fired.
The two officers in the shooting, Jonathan Kizzar and Kelly Jenson, are on administrative leave. Ferguson’s sister told the Oregonian her brother may not have realized it was police knocking when he opened the door holding the BB gun. Police are releasing no more details pending a grand jury investigation.
By Friday afternoon, the bullet-riddled door frame of Ferguson’s unit had been removed and was briefly propped up in the hallway.
Neighbors described Ferguson as both quarrelsome and generous. His next-door neighbors say he picked fights with other residents, but also once stopped by just to give them a typewriter and a computer table.
Ferguson’s court file shows a troubled history: He was required to register as a sex offender and undergo treatment for substance abuse after a felony rape conviction in 1988. He was charged with assault and harassment in 2003, though the charges were dropped. He was put on probation two years ago for failing to register as a sex offender. He had been living in the Ventura Park complex with his girlfriend for at least a year, neighbors say, but records in 2008 state he had no solid address and had “no regular, verifiable contact with family or significant others in local community.” A 2007 record listed Ferguson’s address as the Unicorn Hotel. He has been unemployed, living on disability checks and food stamps.
Overall, there were five officer-involved shootings this year (four of them fatal)—the most since 2006—reversing a recent trend in which shootings had plunged in comparison to the rest of the past 18 years. Officials have attributed that drop to things like giving cops Tasers, improved crisis training, and stronger civilian oversight. But Dan Handelman of Portland Copwatch says that’s “all been thrown out the window at this point.”
Coincidentally the shooting came the same day the Portland Police Association (PPA) submitted a letter to the city asking that the two sides jointly declare an impasse and move the contract bargaining to mediation. The city has agreed, for now, that could mean key issues—like drug testing and civilian oversight—will be hashed out behind closed doors.
At a news conference Monday, December 20, members of the Fire Frashour campaign, a group of activists who had loudly demanded the firing of the officer who shot and killed Aaron Campbell in January, linked the union’s decision with the most recent shooting.
“Despite the recent shooting, the city is still closing the police association negotiations to the public,” Kathryn Cates said on the steps of the Justice Center. “By agreeing to remove the negotiations from public scrutiny, the city negotiators are colluding with the PPA to preserve the cops’ impunity.”
These cops seem to have a thing for gunning down citizens in their own homes. Yet, most Portland cops don’t even live in the city. They live elsewhere, yet WE have to deal with them.
Don’t worry, Clifton. They won’t find you in your mom’s basement.
The police are not going to ask you if your weapon is real or fake. They are not going to inquire as to your intention. By wielding said weapon (real or fake) you are putting the police in a position of perceived mortal danger. You will be shot.
Some folks just dont get that BokChoy.They seem to be more interested in stirring shit.
Seems pretty straight-forward.
It sounds like Jason Renaud about summed it up. I hate all of these killer cops, but, in this situation I can’t say that I blame them.
It’s easy to see how these pigs feel that they have a mandate to just blow people away no question, with all the blind support they seem to get.
Just you wait until it’s either YOU or someone YOU give a fuck about one day…
… i’d love to see you all cheerleading the cops then.
The police are facing with a myriad of incidents that put their live at risk on the job and very often those fast changing incidents give them a split second to assess and to take appropriate action. I am sure that the outcome would have been different if the one that carries what turns out to be a fake gun was a toddler instead of an adult. Adults don’t use toys. The police cannot tell which gun is fake or real even at close range. It is hard to tell which mosquito is male or female when they are flying.
Actually, cops aren’t at all above shooting children too. Point is, these pigs just don’t give a fuck. And with paid vacation awarded to every cop who shoots someone, they have NO incentive to do so!
Considering how trigger-happy these pigs are, can you really blame the common citizen for taking whatever measures possible to defend themselves?
Out of the 4 citizens murdered by Portland cops this year, Keaton Otis was the ONLY one who was actually armed. Those pigs gunned him down mercilessly [after tailing him for blocks], but ATLEAST the brother had a fighting chance.
Using a fake gun to threaten your neighbors and then brandishing it front of police officers is DamosA’s idea of “the common citizen taking whatever measures possible to defend themselves”? What and incredibly childish and deluded sentiment.
Honestly, you have to wake up pretty stupid in the morning to get yourself shot by the end of the day.
Guess what I did this Christmas? I bought officers cups of coffee whenever I saw them. Last Sunday at 7:00pm, Westbound, Blue Line Rose Quarter there was an asshole threatening passengers with a REAL gun. Mind you, despite the fact I could not make the distinction between real and fake I was really scared. The train stopped, the doors opened and the officer took him off the Max. No shots and no fucking around either. The entire train’s assailant did not have a chance to show his weapon again or menace anyone else with his ‘hunting” story. We gave him a standing ovation. Research it, it’s true, it’s just not the slanted or bald face lies you like to print.
It will never be me brandishing a weapon, toy, fake or real because 90% or more of us understand other people’s feelings, it is probably scary for most of us. Then there is the other 6 to 10 percent of us who have been victims of violent crime and your toy guns are just terrifying. I am never happy to see anyone get hurt nor do I want to hurt anyone else, so no, it will never be me threatening to shot anyone and I can guarantee you I won’t be shot by the police.
Denis and Sarah…please consider actually reporting some factual information instead of a misleading article with an even more misleading title.
If anyone is interested the “fake” – “bb” or whatever gun can be seen here: http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Colt_Defende…
A real and deadly replica of the fake gun can be seen here:
http://www.special-warfare.net/data_base/2…
Next time consider the possibility that some actual information may help the reader to actually reach a decision based upon facts instead of false innuendo.
Wave a gun at cops = get shot. Wave a gun at cops that isn’t real, but cops don’t know that for sure = get shot. Answer the door with any kind of gun in your hand and don’t know who it is = just plain rude. Who does that?
This is not new. This is not rocket science.
Only 4 police-shooting involved deaths. I’d say that the Portland police are doing pretty damn good. It hurt me slightly, physically to write that just now and read those words, but it’s true. They really don’t shoot many people.
So Sarah, you know this guy that got shot? You must since you used the term “battling” mental illness. What a cheap, manipulative journalistic ploy to color this story Your way. Maybe he embraced his mental illness or unfortunately just had mental illness. Luckily, I don’t read your magazine for any version of the news. I read it for Dan Savage!!!!
Wow !!!! Level headed commentors actually shut Damosa down !!! Awesome.
Listing off this guy’s backstory makes it hard not to have some sympathy for his station in life. Yeah, he had a pretty raw deal, yeah you can’t blame him for being pretty down in the dumps.
But, that being said, if you wave a gun around in the presence of a police officer that is responding to a crisis you’re causing, you will be shot, and you deserve to be shot. Everybody knows that, he knew it (no matter how high/drunk he was), and it was a justified shooting.
Deal with it, cop haters.
What’s pretty “straight-forward” about this situation is this: Darryel Dwayne Ferguson was a pretty decent guy by all accounts. He may have been a nuisance to some of his neibours… on occasion. Otherwise, he was harmless. He kept a bb gun that was no danger to anyone. An over-zealous 911 caller summons the cops. Unfortunately, Ferguson did suffer from mental illness. Completely disregarding this fact, the cops gun him down ruthlessly, using a toy fucking gun as a cheap-ass excuse to justify their total disregard for another persons’ life.
Ferguson was poor, he was ill, & therefore deemed “worthless” by the police, who saw fit to execute him on the spot. THAT’S what happened here. And it’s pretty fucking pathetic that the blind dumb cop-supporters have simply piled on here b/c of a herd mentality & a foolish sense that the police are here to serve the interests of the public.
DamosA: Ferguson pointed a bb gun that is a nearly identical looking replica to an actual 9mm gun at police officers. The rest of your commentary doesn’t make up for this simple fact. You obviously seem to think you know more about the case than anyone else here, so please, present your well thought-out facts with some evidence and save your babble for the Red and Black Cafe.
Damosa just breathe before writing.And perhaps a spelling course or two.P.S.Do level headed folks still call police “Pigs”?
Hey DumosA: What don’t you get? Dude answers door with a gun pointed at the cops. Look at the links in the earlier post – real gun? fake gun?
Maybe you should try out your theory. Go get a replica “bb gun” and go into a bank, point the harmless gun at the teller, and demand money. Using your logic you will not get any money and you will never do time in a federal prison. Your defense can be it was just a harmless fake gun and the teller should have known that. No reason to use “a toy fucking gun as a cheap-ass excuse to justify” your conviction.
This guy may be a sad story, mentally ill, living a sad life, high and totally fucked up. But, you don’t take a toy gun to a real gun fight unless you want to get shot.
Speaking of “knowing” something about this case, what most of you people don’t seem to know [or conveniently ignore] is that Ferguson most likely didn’t even know that it was cops at his door! What most of you don’t seem to realize is that these pigs often do not introduce themselves as officers when engaging citizens in public, whereas, it would be necessary. Just take this well known case from 2008 of a local cyclist who was tackled, tasered, & beaten by a plain-clothed cop who NEVER identified himself as such:
http://bikeportland.org/2008/06/11/man-on-…
But since you people all seem to be soo “tough-on-crime”, i suppose you all think that this is a very well-mannered response from a damn cop.
Don’t mind Clifton Brooks, AKA DamosA, people. He’s still bitter about being tasered on two separate occasions while damaging property and resisting arrest during protests with his anarchist buddies. What he seems to not understand is people who act in a civil manner and don’t draw attention to themselves are not contacted by the police. He also doesn’t understand that if you do something that gets police attention you do what they say, whether or not you think they are right or wrong. There aren’t many people stupid enough to be tased on two separate occasions.
Based on his little Fuck the Police MySpace page it’s pretty clear he’s gonna have something bad to say about cops no matter what they do.
“Based on his little Fuck the Police MySpace page it’s pretty clear he’s gonna have something bad to say about cops no matter what they do.”
Actually, both that page & my facebook page for POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY were both shut down. Clearly, i was having an impact. That’s ok, b/c i’m currently compiling info. to start up pages on wordpress & possibly a blogspot, as well as working on a ‘pro’ site.
Have you ever thought about changing your profile name? Matt Davis hasn’t worked for the Merc. for months now. Denis Theriault currently handles many articles regarding police activity. You may want to re-direct your cop-fetish, right-wing vitriol towards him.
Is that all you got?
Well unlike you or the [rest] of you, i tend to regard the murder of innocent people by cops not as a joke, but kinda serious. Just wait ’til it happens either to you or someone you give a damn about – i bet you’ll change your tune then…
Wow…I was looking at this page and the add to the right was for “Front Sight Firearms Training Institute” If you click the link you get a quiz about firearms.
DumosA should take the quiz….one question should be “If you point a replica firearm at the police you can expect:
a. To be politely asked to submit an apology for your inconsiderate actions.
b. To have the police apologize for disturbing your play time.
c. To be given an award for your excellent dramatic representation of a person with a real gun.
d. To get your Dumb Ass shot
YOU’RE one to call someone else a dumbass, maybe i’m not soo easily swayed by on-line pop-up ads.
Just what part of TOY GUN/MENTALLY ILL are you people not getting, anyways? Wow like, you folks sure are awfully dense. Maybe you all don’t mind living in a society where innocent citizens are constantly TERRORIZED by these pigs. Especially pigs who’re too goddamned cowardly to actually live within the city limits.
Had it not occured to any of you that maybe, just maybe a person does not deserve to die b/c he has a toy gun???
quit being so black and white about this whole thing. just because nobody is surprised that this guy got shot does not mean we all want to start giving the entire police force handjobs and donuts every tuesday. what it means is that EACH SITUATION IS DIFFERENT. sure, the police more than deserve the amount of vitriol that gets directed their way because of their use of excessive force and harassment of people who already have it shitty enough. IN THIS SITUATION, however, you can’t be surprised that this guy was shot.
And Damos, that link you posted about the biker is pretty messed up.
Once again, Clifton proves to us all, he is a dumbass. What part of replica gun don’t YOU understand? As in, a replica that looks so close to the real thing it’s hard to tell them apart without inspecting it. And I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a replica BB/Pellet gun sold in a toy department. A BB/Pellet gun is a real gun. That’s why it’s illegal to shoot them within the city limits of Portland. They can cause property damage and, in some cases, pretty decent injury. I’m sure if someone pointed this same gun at you, you’d shit your favorite pants from Hot Topic and run back to your dungeon.
As far as this guy being mentally ill, which is a term thrown around way to often, I’d like to see you try to deal with this situation. It’s not always possible to communicate with, or even attempt to talk to someone when they are in crisis or certain other states of mind.
I’m sure PPB is accepting applications from people who are willing to show these “cowardly pigs” how to do thier jobs. You should apply and show them how things should be done. You’ve already been tased twice, so you shouldn’t have to do that again to be certified. Of course, you’d have to dress in a uniform, but they might make an exception and let you keep the Goth look you’ve got going.
The sheer amoung of sheeple who blindly accept, endorse, & support the police gestapo here reminds me of how it must’ve been in Germany right around the early 1930’s. Very typical, very scary… to think that people would be soo willing to make excuses for the cops NO-MATTER what they do.
And you condemn them NO-MATTER what they do. Nobody here is making excuses. They are using logic and common sense. Traits you obviously don’t possess.
Well seeing as how these pigs get away with MURDER, condemnations from me & other citizens is rather small in comparison. How does it feel to be part of the problem?
Cliff/Damosa……do we still call them Pigs?Get over it.Your wrong,wrong,wrong.Oh and you know it,blah,blah,blah.
I’ve lived in Portland since 2003, and the only time I’ve ever had any issue with cops was for being pulled over for shit that was entirely my fault.
Why haven’t I been shot by these horrible police? Oh, because I’m not a fucking idiot.
Why haven’t I been arrested- EVER? Oh, because I’m not a fucking idiot.
See, there’s a pattern there. Idiots have trouble with police because they get caught doing idiotic things. More intelligent people will realize that there are laws in place, there always will be, and it’s someone’s job to enforce them, and that they were in the wrong for breaking such a law, knowing the consequences full and well. Or they learn to keep their shenanigans out of the spotlight. Idiots get mad at the cops, and continue doing stupid crap and getting caught for it.
They’re doing their job. They carry guns because sometimes shooting someone is part of that job. If you don’t want to be part of that part of the job, it’s very easy to avoid.
So accroding to YOU, anyone who gets fucked with by these pigs are idiots, right? If an innocent person is beaten, arrested, or gunned down by some rotten-ass cop, it’s ONLY b/c that person was an idiot.
And since when did cops ever “do their job”? You’re completely diluted if that’s what you think. One good thing though – should YOU ever get arrested or shot by the cops, atleast i’ll know it was YOUR fault. That may be the one & only time a cop would’ve even done his “job”.
Now that it’s a new year, i wonder how long it’ll take for the Portland Gestapo to make their first kill for 2011? MY bet is on January.
Well that sure as Hell didn’t take long, did it?
Another innocent man was just gunned down by these pigs. I predicted that it would be January when the Portland Gestapo made it’s first kill of 2011. But even i didn’t think it would be soo goddamned soon! These pigs are off to a Hell of a start!
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2011/01/4…
DamosA will you just STFU. You whinney hippie fake anarchist douche bag transplant (it figures), you have repeatedly proven that you are an idiotic clueless wannabe “anarchist” who just has to “rage against the machine”. The PPB need to address some serious issues but your little”us against the “Pigs” “BS is NOT going to help, and you are the one who is deluded if you and the clowns at “Red and Black” cafe think it is. It’s comical that “deportmattdavis” outed you and clowned you at the same time. “mollymaverick” made a valid point that naturally you can’t grasp. Incidentally for your edification the word “deluded” and the word “diluted” do not mean the same thing. Why don’t you take your bullshit whinney defensive rants, pseudo anarchist garbage and ……….just take it all away
Well clearly, you’re just another blind dumbass who supports these nazi pigs nomatter what they do/who they kill, & damn those “radicals” in the community who DARE to speak up about it! Incase you haven’t fucking noticed, the Portland Gestapo have murdered TWO people just within the past month, & shot another innocent man. Another cop shot into a crowd of people dt on New Years night, getting into a reckless gunfight with some criminal. And what if innocent people had been killed, what would your sorry ass be saying then, huh? YAY POLICE, THEY WERE JUST DOING THEIR JOB?! Fucking idiot. Why don’t you pull your head out of your ass & wake up to the POLICE STATE staring you in the face!
Why didn’t the police identify themselves when they knocked at the door? I thought it was standard procedure to announce that it is the police while knocking. Perhaps if that happened he wouldn’t of opened the door with a BB gun. But we will never know will we?
Those police officers seem to of wanted to surprise the person behind the door. That is underhanded.
Anytime I have called the police and then when they knock on my door they identify themselves as the police even if you have a keyhole to look out at them.
Why was this not done this one time? Are these new cops? If not they have absolutely no excuse for not identifying themselves. Sounds malicious.