The Oregonian
PORTLAND, Ore. — The grand jurors who found no criminal wrongdoing in the police shooting of Aaron M. Campbell said they were “outraged at what happened at Sandy Terrace” apartments and know something “went terribly, terribly wrong,’' in a three-page letter released today.
They said Campbell, who was shot in the back by officers and was not armed, should not have died that day.
“We feel that his death resulted from flawed police policies, incomplete or inappropriate training, incomplete communication and other issues with the police effort,’' the jury wrote. “We feel strongly that something must be done to correct this, and the Portland Police Bureau should be held responsible for this tragedy.”
The jury said the police bureau’s largest failure was that there was no command structure – the decision to use or not use deadly force was left to one officer, someone who may have not been completely trained for the encounter, not have received critical information during the situation or sufficient background information on Campbell.
For example, a police canine officer testified that he unleashed his dog to “take down” Campbell, but the officer who fired the fatal shot told jurors he didn’t know and didn’t see the dog running before he shot his AR-15 rifle, striking and killing Campbell.
The jurors said, however, they could not indict Officer Ronald Frashour, who shot and killed Campbell with a single shot from an AR-15 to the back, since his actions fell within state laws and statutes regarding the use of deadly force by an officer.
Read full story: Grand jury letter says Portland police made critical errors in Campbell shooting