Family of Tualatin man killed by police sues
Friday, April 4, 2008 11:22 AM PDT
TUALATIN (AP) — The family of a 20-year-old man shot and killed by police after he entered a single mother’s apartment has filed a lawsuit against three officers and several government agencies.
Officers fatally shot Jordan Case in October 2006 after responding to a 9-1-1 call from a Tualatin woman who said she awoke to find a stranger standing over her.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, claims police wrongfully and unreasonably used Tasers and nonlethal beanbag rounds against Case and then fired four pistol shots. It seeks unspecified damages.
Named as defendants are Washington County, Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency, the cities of Tualatin and Sherwood, Washington County sheriff’s Deputy Glenn Howard, Tualatin police Officer John Jayne and Sherwood police Officer Adam Keesee.
Spokesmen for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Tualatin Police Department and the Sherwood Police Department declined comment Thursday, all citing policies prohibiting them from talking about pending litigation.
Case, who weighed 128 pounds, was under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms at the time of the incident. The woman told the 9-1-1 dispatcher that Case was on mushrooms, but that information was never provided to the officers, according to the lawsuit.
Steven Sherlag, the lawyer representing Case’s family, said the woman had Case pinned to the ground when police arrived. The woman and her 8-year-old daughter then fled from the apartment, and Case and the officers soon followed. Police reports indicated that lethal force was used only when Case tried to get a rifle in one of the patrol cars outside, The Oregonian newspaper reported.
‘‘These officers shouldn’t have used tools and toys to inflict pain on Jordan Case,’’ Sherlag said. ‘‘They should have used their heads and their hands.’’
The Washington County district attorney’s office reviewed the shooting and declined to take the case to a grand jury.
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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
