A Multnomah County grand jury has determined that two Portland Police officers who shot and killed 27-year-old Patrick Kimmons were justified.
The grand jury’s not true bill decision means they have determined no criminal prosecution is warranted, and that the use of deadly force against Kimmons by Sergeant Garry Britt and Officer Jeffrey Livingston was a lawful act under Oregon law.
The officers were near a parking lot on Sunday, September 30 when there was a fight and shots were fired.
Police say Kimmons had shot and wounded two people. As the officers approached the scene, Kimmons, who was armed with a gun, ran toward them and the officers fired killing Kimmons.
The Portland Police Bureau released surveillance video of the shooting.
Kimmons mother, Letha Winston, called for the entire video to be released.
The Portland Police Association released the following statement about the shooting:
On September 30th, two Portland Police officers faced the most dangerous of circumstances. An armed and dangerous active shooter, who had seconds earlier fired his gun at a small crowd of people, advanced towards officers while still armed with his gun. The officers had mere seconds to react to the deadly situation that continued to threaten the lives of innocent bystanders as well as their own. They fired their weapons to protect our community.
Much of the anger directed towards the Portland Police Bureau and its officers has been fueled by false narratives. Fanning the flames of emotion through misinformation doesn’t help uncover the facts; nor does it help our community understand what happened that early Sunday morning.
We have now heard from a Multnomah County Grand Jury made up of our own community members. After an extensive review of the evidence, that Grand Jury determined that the officers’ use of deadly force was justified.
As the Police Bureau releases the evidence, including surveillance videos of the incident, and as the Multnomah County District Attorney releases hundreds of pages of grand jury testimony, we must stop the spread of false information. Instead, we must take an honest, objective look at the evidence. Our officers did exactly what the community asks of them; they acted to stop a person who posed an immediate, deadly threat to our community.
Any loss of life is tragic. And we understand and appreciate the public’s interest whenever officers are faced with the difficult, split-second decision to defend the public and themselves against an armed person. Our officers work tirelessly every day to protect the public, to stop crime, and to prevent the loss of life. However, there are times—like the incident on September 30th—when officers are faced with no other reasonable option but to use deadly force.