By Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian, Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The scene of the Portland officer-involved shooting on Jan. 25th, atop the nine-story SmartPark garage at Southwest Morrison and Fourth Avenue.
A Multnomah County grand jury has found no criminal wrongdoing by Portland police in their Jan. 25 fatal shooting of 21-year-old Brad Lee Morgan atop a downtown parking garage.
The grand jury issued its ruling this afternoon after it began hearing testimony on Monday.
Fifteen witnesses testified. The grand jury heard testimony from 8:30 a.m. until noon the last three days.
Grand jury transcripts likely won’t be released until Feb. 29, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Central Precinct night shift Sgt. John Holbrook, a 15-year veteran, and Central Precinct Officer David Scott, who joined the bureau 9 years ago, fired shots at Morgan after responding to a 9-1-1 call at 3:37 a.m.
Morgan had told a dispatcher that he had committed a robbery at knifepoint and was going to jump off a downtown parking garage. Morgan also talked about shooting someone, and replied to a dispatcher when asked if he had a gun, “possibly.”
Scott and Holbrook located Morgan atop the nine-story SmartPark garage at Southwest Fourth Avenue and Morrison Street. He had climbed onto an elevator shaft on the structure’s southwest corner.
At 3:35 a.m., Morgan reportedly told a dispatcher that officers had found him but he wasn’t going to go with them. At 3:47 a.m, officers requested that Project Respond mental health crisis workers come to the scene. Four minutes later, police asked for members of the bureau’s Crisis Negotiation Team (formerly the ‘Hostage Negotiation Team’) to respond to help talk Morgan down.
But before they arrived, Scott and Holbrook began talking to Morgan. At 4:01 a.m., police said the officer and sergeant saw Morgan pull out what looked like a black handgun and point it at them. Both fired shots.
Police said Morgan’s handgun turned out to be a fake.
The Portland Police Bureau has not yet released how many shots were fired by police, or where the officer and sergeant were standing when they fired the shots.
Two bullets were located at least a block away – one inside a building on Southwest Fifth Avenue, and another found by a pedestrian in a crosswalk on Southwest Fifth Avenue.
Brad Lee Morgan, pictured here holding his son, Kannon. Kannon is now 8 months old
Morgan’s family said the 21-year-old had been troubled by an on-again, off-again relationship and custody battles over his 8-month-old son. Morgan faced a restraining order, preventing him from seeing the woman. Two days before the shooting, Morgan and his mother had gone to court to seek a hearing to contest the restraining order.
A public records request from The Oregonian is pending before the Portland Police Bureau for all the police reports stemming from the shooting. The bureau responded that it likely will not release the reports until the grand jury transcripts are available on Feb. 29.
Thanks. Just wonted to say, Have a good day ! Dont worry be happy !
Ok Yeah Sure NO WRONG DOING These Pigs Have All Kinds Of Wrong Doing’s . Who Killed My Aunt Kendra ? Or My Brother Brad ? Or My Mom’s Freind ? PORTLAND Police Because They Are Trigger Happy Pieces Of Pork . . It Pisses Me Off That Police Arent Suppose To Even Show Up To Somthing Like That , It Was A Job For The Nagotiation Team Not The Police . They Are Just Nosey Killers With A Badge And A Right To Kill . Fuck That . And If No Wrong Doing Was Done Here Then Why Has It Been 2 Years Since My Brother Took A Breath . ? Xc Omg Im So Mad . No Wrong Doing Yet That Baby Boy WILL NEVER SEE HIS FATHER . ! Beacsue Two Men KILLED &&MURDERED His Dad When He Was Only 8 Mounths Old . I Bet They Are Just Proud ! “Oh Yeah Honey I Killed A Dad Today . Hah Let’s See How The Kid Turns Out !” . Fucking Pigs 5.0. Where’s My Fork I Smell Bacon . ? And Dad ^^ I Miss You And Mom And Rashelley I Hope I Get To See You Soon . Call Me ! And Dad Also Excuse My Language .
Hi Dad I Miss And Love You Guys XOXO.