City Hall is ringing in the new year with a $3 million lawsuit over a police shooting.
Randy Morgan has filed a wrongful death suit against the city of Portland over the death of his son, Brad Morgan, on January 25, 2012. Morgan, distraught and suicidal, was atop a downtown parking garage by officers who thought the 21-year-old was reaching for a gun. Morgan had been reaching for a fake handgun instead.
Filed on New Year’s Eve, the lawsuit (pdf) alleges that officers mishandled the situation and failed to follow bureau policy, allowing themselves to become the police in a suicide-by-police scenario.
The night before he died, Morgan repeatedly called Korena Bartley, his longtime girlfriend and the mother of his 8-year-old son. The two had broken up, and Morgan was deeply upset over it. After failing to get through to Bartley, Morgan posted to Facebook in the early morning hours asking, “what’s the best way to die? get shot or jump to my death.” He then called 911.
Morgan told the dispatcher during their 22-minute conversation that he was on top of a parking structure in downtown Portland and was going to jump. He claimed to have robbed someone at knife point earlier that evening. He made comments suggesting he was seeking to commit “suicide by police.” When asked by the dispatcher if he had a gun, he replied that he “possibly” did.
Sergeant John Holbrook and Officer David Scott found Morgan and spoke with him atop the parking garage. The standoff ended when Morgan made a sudden motion, pulling his right hand out from underneath his jacket, exposing the toy gun he had purchased the day before. The police responded with gunfire, killing Morgan with a bullet to his head.
According to the lawsuit, the officers’ first mistake was not engaging Morgan from a position of cover. By exposing themselves to the potential danger that Morgan was armed with a handgun, according to the suit, the officers made themselves vulnerable to being drawn into a suicide-by-police scenario. The officers, the suit says, should have used the “step-back” technique when Morgan signaled his desire to be shot by police and should have engaged him via cell phone from a safe position.
The suit contends that officers didn’t just make a mistake placing themselves in harm’s way, but that they also violated bureau policy. The suit says officers should have called the police bureau’s Hostage Negotiation Team.
In February 2012, a grand jury cleared the the two cops involved in the incident of any criminal wrongdoing, a typical outcome for police shooting cases.
Randy Morgan is asking for $3 million, more than the record $2.3 million settlement paid out in the non-fatal 2011 police shooting of William Kyle Monroe.
I don’t view this as cops screwing up, not one bit.
Thus, this lawsuit strikes me as a cynical attempt to profit over the death of a son.
Of course, people deal with the tragedy of death in different ways.
Well, let’s all agree that he chose his way to die, as explained by his exceedingly clear statement of method.
There is no way a policy change or financial punishment is in order, which some would contend (other than greed) is the reason for this lawsuit. I am all for proactive, positive change but reporting like this, soliciting knee jerk sympathy in stating how “typical” this tragic outcome was, is pointless and shallow. Lampoon yourself, merc.
Maybe the police should be compensating for providing a valuable on-demand public suicide service to those that do not wish to take care of the dirty deed themselves.
They at least deserve to be tipped for a speedy and personal delivery.
Holy fuck, people. Listen to yourselves. Congratulating police on a job well done for needlessly shooting another human being who was not a threat to them is appalling, not praiseworthy. Killing innocent people is wrong, full stop. Quit making excuses for using guns to solve problems that really – with very little goddamned effort – could be solved in some non-fatal manner, maybe? God. damn. Would you feel this same way if the man shot was your husband, YOUR SON, your father, your cousin, your brother? He’s at least one of those things to someone else. (And if the answer is yes, I can’t imagine what a joy it is to be at your family gatherings.)
I’m sure the police have access to the same suicide prevention hotlines that are posted on the bridges, right? Are they incapable of picking up a non-deadly device like fucking TELEPHONE and consulting someone who *does* know what the fuck they are doing in this situation?
Jesus christ fucking white men need to grow the fuck up and learn to sit with a little fear without drawing a goddamned gun for every little thing. Hint: guns do not take away fear, they just make your fear needlessly deadly.
Well, at least in my case it is known as “sarcasm”.