If I read it correctly, the officer's attorney is simply arguing a motion. I really can't believe that Norm Frink, or any presiding judge would allow such a thing. An officer doesn't get an attorney in Grand Jury that reviews a fatal shooting. Why would he/she rate one in a Negligent Wounding, or Assault case?

All this says to me is that his attorney, knows there is a high probabilty her client is toast, is desperate to throw up some chaff.

I hope Rod Underhill gets elected. He's hard-working, honest, and has integrity.

And he'll roll over for crooked cops just like Schrunk does. No thanks.

Frink should have had this clown indicted the day after the shooting. Instead he drags his feet, so that suddenly the grand jury is an adversary proceeding. So typical. So corrupt. That office needs new blood, not a warm-over.

If the PPB was negligent in training personnel on the use of this less leathal weapon, then why is that only one guy among many officers, and in thousands of incidents, made this particular mistake.

The likely end result that will occur is expensive broad based training for all, when only one guy didn't get it. One guy makes a racial slur, diversity training for all. One guy wrecks a car, driving school for all..... and so on.

I guess trials will no longer be necessary. Grand juries will just decide now.
Is this a new money saving idea?

I guess it's slightly better than just having the cops decide.

re: Underhill. That's not my experience of him, but who knows what working in Multnomah County for 25 years could to to someone. *Sigh*

"Forget it Jack, it's Puddletown..."

This is ridiculous. Unless his superiors told him to use a lethal weapon, anyone who can't tell a bright orange shotgun-looking thing from the real deal is too stupid to be a policeman.

The DA's office is opposing all the defense motions. It's not like this grand jury would ever have been a secret. What else do you want the DA's office to do?

Promptly indicting the guy would have been nice. This jncident took place nearly four months ago. The long delays in "investigating" police shootings in Portland are ridiculous. Now they're opening the door for defense lawyers to introduce evidence to the grand jury? That's a rigged deck that no civilian defendant would ever get.

You honestly think a lack of "promptness" caused this problem? What the defense attorney is doing here is entirely out of bounds and unprecedented. Nobody could have predicted this kind of move. Blaming the office THAT IS ACTIVELY OPPOSING THESE EFFORTS seems like over-reaching. Instead, blame the questionable tactics of the defense attorney.

It's not the DA's office or the defender is it? Isn't it the judge allowing it that is stepping out of bounds?

Are you kidding? Frink is overjoyed. Now when this cop skates, the d.a.'s office can blame it on somebody else. They never indict cops -- never. Any excuse.

Overjoyed? Do you really think Mult Co would be seeking to introduce evidence of this officer's prior misconduct if they weren't serious about seeking an indictment? As far as the prompt indictment is concerned, have you considered what is may not be reported? What if the the DA's Office was trying to get him to plead pre-grand jury? Could that account for a delay? What if they didn't have all of the necessary reports from the crime lab, etc? Let's not presume you have all of the answers as to why or why not they are doing certain things.

I have decades of history. The Multnomah County d.a.'s office never indicts a cop, even if the cop intentionally, brutally kills somebody and lies through his teeth about it. Nobody seriously thinks that anyone in that office wants to indict a cop who "merely" ruins a guy's life based on a "mere" grossly negligent mistake. Now they can blame "unprecedented" defense lawyer motion yada yada when they come up with another lame no-bill.

And Underhill will be exactly the same.

Do you really think Mult Co would be seeking to introduce evidence of this officer's prior misconduct if they weren't serious about seeking an indictment?

Yes. Its just a show to say they tried, and then the "grand jury" found nothing. Have you been under a rock?

I served on a grand jury in another county recently. Most members were cheerleaders for the cops and das. When I dared to question anything they did, one member in particular stared at me as if I were an infidel.