Grand jury finds no police negligence in Brad Morgan’s 2012 death

KOIN.com, March 6, 2015

Brad Lee Morgan smiles at his son, Kannon.

Brad Lee Morgan smiles at his son, Kannon.

A jury has ruled that two Portland police officers did not act negligently before fatally shooting a suicidal man atop a downtown parking garage in January 2012.

The Oregonian reports jurors deliberated for nearly three hours before making the decision Thursday.

An attorney for the parents of Brad Morgan said the officers failed to make a tactically sound plan after learning the 21-year-old possibly had a gun and was contemplating suicide-by-cop.

The officers fired at 4 a.m. after seeing Morgan reach toward his waistband and pull out what they believed to be a gun. Police said it turned out to be a plastic toy gun that had been painted black.

READOur op-ed on media whitewash of Brad Morgan tragedy