published in BlueOregon
In the past couple of months Clackamas County cops have been busy busy busy. We may need to ready ourselves for an appropriation of liquid cooled weapons, as there seems to be a very real danger of gun barrels melting down from prolonged use.
On December 22nd, they answered a call in Mollala and were confronted by an armed Joseph La Marsh on the front steps of his parents home. Mr. LaMarsh, who had apparently been threatening to kill his father, was shot and is now resting comfortably in the hospital with a stomach wound.
December 15th found our intrepid marksmen called to a home near Damascus, where they were apparently forced to light up a suspect that had been vexing both Gresham and Clackamas County cops for several days. Mr. Graham apparently had a history of carjacking, assault, and successful escapes from arresting officers; and had served a long prison term for violent crimes. Anyhow, Mr. Graham, like Mr. Marsh, appeared not to be a big reader of news articles as he is alleged to have attempted to grab a rifle held by one of the arresting officers. He was shot and killed by Sergeant Tutmark while resisting arrest. The Sergeant had also had the misfortune of being involved in a "suicide by police" incident in Estacada in 2002. In that case, police shot an armed Kenneth Gerde, and were cleared of criminal wrongdoing by a grand jury, although how many shots were fired and where they hit the deceased was never revealed by the sheriff's Office.
And so it goes. Excrement Occurs. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi and all of that. There are plenty of people that richly deserve to be assisted off of this mortal coil in a Hail of Hollow Points, and we have oversight to assure that the law enforcement personnel designated by these perps to pay the Ferryman, don't wind up having their careers and lives destroyed by said punks. Sometimes, though, we have to look closely at the various actions and reactions out there on the mean streets of the county, which brings us to the depressing case of Fouad Kaady who shuffled off of this mortal coil, right here in Sandy once again with the assistance of law enforcement personnel.
Mr. Kaady's odyssey has been chronicled by the new editor at The Sandy Post the intrepid Marcus Hathcock. He was able to interview a variety of witnesses including the Sandy and Clackamas officers involved.
The bottom line on this one seems to be that a young man with no history of illegal activity, had a single incomprehensible day of sliding into insanity and death. He had wrecked at least three cars, started a couple of brush fires in the process, injuring and burning himself so that according to Mr. Hathcock's account, by the time the officers confronted him, he was on foot, naked, bloody, and so badly burned that flaps of skin were slouhging off of his torso and arms. Oh, yeah, and very obviously unarmed.
It is here that things get a bit hinky for our intrepid centurions. They get out of their squad car and Clackamas County officer Willard inexplicably lays his loaded shotgun on the hood of his cruiser.
They then approach Kaady try to restrain him, tase him repeatedly, to no apparent effect, and when Kaady starts jumping around and pulling the taser barbs out of his naked shoulders, Willard has an epiphany. From The Post's Hathcock:
Willard said he wasn’t going to let Kaady leave the scene but admitted he wasn’t sure how he was going to apprehend him, even if he complied. He thought, “I’m gonna wait until other officers get here before we do anything.”
He said he did not want to touch Kaady at all due to the amount of blood that covered the man’s body. Willard was specifically concerned that by touching Kaady, he could contract hepatitis or AIDS.
“Somebody needs to glove up before they touch this man,” Willard thought to himself.
Wait for it...........................And again further into the confrontation:
Willard said Kaady began to chase him until the suspect leaped onto the trunk of the patrol car. He moved on top of the roof, waving his arms in the air.
At that point, Willard thought to himself, “I’m going to need to shoot this man,” again stating that he did not want to come in contact with Kaady's blood. “I can’t let him touch me.”
It wasn’t long until the officers realized that the shotgun Deputy Willard had brought was sitting on the hood of the patrol car, in plain view. The car’s driver’s side door was wide open, and the engine was running.
So there you have it. A veteran cop, with a history of tactical training has now come to the conclusion (which apparently made sense to the grand jury), that lacking rubber gloves, law enforcement had no choice but to light the boy up.
So in this season of giving lets offer the Clakcamas County cops a case or two of gloves to ditributed to the boys in the squad cars.
Let's also ask Sheriff Roberts to send his boys to training. they can learn from Portland police officer Paul Ware who has a history of hostage negotiation and dealing with mentally ill suspects. Officer Ware was the Man of the Hour this year at the Capitol when he disarmed a distraught knife weilding man in Senate chambers.They could also check with the PD in Vancouver BC who have identified symptoms and instituted a whole set of procedures around this type of rare but predictable police/citizen encounter.
The official report on the incident has been delayed by Sheriff Roberts, and I take that as a potentially good sign. What we need as citizens of the county, is not retribution or the ruining of careers. No, we need assurance that police porcedures will be changed so that the police will have effective tools and training availabe when confronting the deranged, especially when they are unarmed.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Kaady investigation given time extension
from the Oregonian
A Clackamas County sheriff's review board will get an additional 60 days to conduct an internal investigation into the shooting death of 27-year-old Fouad Kaady by a deputy and a Sandy Police officer during a September confrontation on a rural highway.
Sheriff Craig Roberts granted the extension Tuesday, he said in a news release, "in order to allow the board the time necessary to thoroughly review this complex incident and to complete a clear and comprehensive report and recommendations."
During a week of deliberations that ended Oct. 24, a Clackamas County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of Deputy David Willard and Sandy Police Officer William Bergin.
Kaady, a Gresham man suspected in at least three hit-and-run crashes in the hours before he died Sept. 8, was bloody, naked and combative, sheriff's officials said.
He was unfazed by 50,000 volts from a Taser stun gun and refused to respond to commands. Both officers testified that Kaady jumped from the ground to the top of a police car in an instant as he screamed at the officers, "I'm gonna kill you!" They fired eight times, hitting Kaady with seven rounds. Kaady was unarmed.
Kaady's family said his bizarre behavior was not the result of drugs or mental illness but of burns from a gasoline can that exploded into flames inside his car and of a head injury suffered during one of the three crashes.
A sheriff's spokeswoman, Detective Wendi Babst, said the head of the review board, Sheriff's Capt. Don Howard, asked for the extension because of the large volume of reports and the complexity of the case.
The board will continue to meet weekly for the next two months, Babst said, before presenting its report to Roberts in late January.
A Clackamas County sheriff's review board will get an additional 60 days to conduct an internal investigation into the shooting death of 27-year-old Fouad Kaady by a deputy and a Sandy Police officer during a September confrontation on a rural highway.
Sheriff Craig Roberts granted the extension Tuesday, he said in a news release, "in order to allow the board the time necessary to thoroughly review this complex incident and to complete a clear and comprehensive report and recommendations."
During a week of deliberations that ended Oct. 24, a Clackamas County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of Deputy David Willard and Sandy Police Officer William Bergin.
Kaady, a Gresham man suspected in at least three hit-and-run crashes in the hours before he died Sept. 8, was bloody, naked and combative, sheriff's officials said.
He was unfazed by 50,000 volts from a Taser stun gun and refused to respond to commands. Both officers testified that Kaady jumped from the ground to the top of a police car in an instant as he screamed at the officers, "I'm gonna kill you!" They fired eight times, hitting Kaady with seven rounds. Kaady was unarmed.
Kaady's family said his bizarre behavior was not the result of drugs or mental illness but of burns from a gasoline can that exploded into flames inside his car and of a head injury suffered during one of the three crashes.
A sheriff's spokeswoman, Detective Wendi Babst, said the head of the review board, Sheriff's Capt. Don Howard, asked for the extension because of the large volume of reports and the complexity of the case.
The board will continue to meet weekly for the next two months, Babst said, before presenting its report to Roberts in late January.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Our debt to the deputies and Kaady's kin
from the Oregonian
The story will sound familiar.
An unarmed man high on drugs is seen walking naked down the street. The man, who appears to be psychotic, ignores police instructions and despite non-lethal attempts to subdue him, he keeps coming.
Then he lunges at a deputy.
But this is not the story of Fouad Kaady, the 27-year-old Gresham man who was fatally shot by a Clackamas County deputy and a Sandy policeman two months ago.
In this 2002 case, a man high on crack cocaine ran naked into traffic in a Seattle suburb and began pounding on cars.
A King County sheriff's deputy sprayed the man with pepper spray. But it didn't stop him. After a short wrestling match, the man gained control of the deputy's gun and shot him four times in the head, killing him.
In the Kaady shooting outside Sandy on Sept 8, police also attempted to use nonlethal means, shooting Kaady with a stun gun after he refused to obey their orders.
Then, according to police reports, Kaady ran toward police, leaped on top of a squad car and screamed that he wanted to kill them. Among other things, the two policemen were worried that Kaady would grab a loaded shotgun one of them had left sitting on the hood of the squad car.
As Kaady appeared to be lunging toward the deputy, both cops opened fire, hitting Kaady seven times.
The two cases spotlight the difficulty of police work. And the difficulty of sorting out who's responsible when things go badly.
In the King County case, a jury convicted the man of murder. Last month, a Clackamas County grand jury voted not to indict the two police officers.
Last week, in response to an editorial in The Oregonian calling for a public inquest into Kaady's death, Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote wrote a letter to the editor saying an inquest is a "flawed legal process" that can "turn into a forum to air grievances."
The bigger flaw is that in too many cases there's virtually no meaningful public review after cops shoot people.
According to newspaper investigations and experts, police agencies across the country offer a wide range of guidelines about the use of lethal force, and many don't aggressively investigate officer-involved shootings.
Two years ago, a police consultant's study of 32 police shootings in Portland over three years turned up no documented command review of one-third of the cases.
Experts say there is very little national information compiled on police shootings and how they're handled, so police leaders feel very little outside pressure to police their own.
But officer-involved shootings are dramatically reduced, experts say, when police chiefs clarify deadly force policies and make it clear that every shooting will be closely scrutinized.
Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts has said he will not comment on the Kaady shooting until after a shooting review board has completed its review of the incident.
Critics, including many people who call for public inquests, insist police reviews rarely shed light on shootings or lead to significant changes in policy.
At this point, it's impossible to know what standard of critical review Roberts will insist on or where he'll decide to lead us in this area.
He will, no doubt, call for more training money for officers. And that's fine. But training is only the very tip of this iceberg. The Clackamas County deputy involved in the shooting was well-trained, both in crisis intervention and in dealing with suspects suffering from mental illness or addiction.
Regardless of what the shooting review board decides about Kaady's death, Roberts should take this opportunity to lay out an aggressive set of guidelines for use of deadly force, and make it clear he intends to enforce them --no exceptions.
And other police departments in the county should follow his lead.
We owe that to the Kaady family. And to the two deputies who felt they had no choice but to pull the trigger.
The story will sound familiar.
An unarmed man high on drugs is seen walking naked down the street. The man, who appears to be psychotic, ignores police instructions and despite non-lethal attempts to subdue him, he keeps coming.
Then he lunges at a deputy.
But this is not the story of Fouad Kaady, the 27-year-old Gresham man who was fatally shot by a Clackamas County deputy and a Sandy policeman two months ago.
In this 2002 case, a man high on crack cocaine ran naked into traffic in a Seattle suburb and began pounding on cars.
A King County sheriff's deputy sprayed the man with pepper spray. But it didn't stop him. After a short wrestling match, the man gained control of the deputy's gun and shot him four times in the head, killing him.
In the Kaady shooting outside Sandy on Sept 8, police also attempted to use nonlethal means, shooting Kaady with a stun gun after he refused to obey their orders.
Then, according to police reports, Kaady ran toward police, leaped on top of a squad car and screamed that he wanted to kill them. Among other things, the two policemen were worried that Kaady would grab a loaded shotgun one of them had left sitting on the hood of the squad car.
As Kaady appeared to be lunging toward the deputy, both cops opened fire, hitting Kaady seven times.
The two cases spotlight the difficulty of police work. And the difficulty of sorting out who's responsible when things go badly.
In the King County case, a jury convicted the man of murder. Last month, a Clackamas County grand jury voted not to indict the two police officers.
Last week, in response to an editorial in The Oregonian calling for a public inquest into Kaady's death, Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote wrote a letter to the editor saying an inquest is a "flawed legal process" that can "turn into a forum to air grievances."
The bigger flaw is that in too many cases there's virtually no meaningful public review after cops shoot people.
According to newspaper investigations and experts, police agencies across the country offer a wide range of guidelines about the use of lethal force, and many don't aggressively investigate officer-involved shootings.
Two years ago, a police consultant's study of 32 police shootings in Portland over three years turned up no documented command review of one-third of the cases.
Experts say there is very little national information compiled on police shootings and how they're handled, so police leaders feel very little outside pressure to police their own.
But officer-involved shootings are dramatically reduced, experts say, when police chiefs clarify deadly force policies and make it clear that every shooting will be closely scrutinized.
Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts has said he will not comment on the Kaady shooting until after a shooting review board has completed its review of the incident.
Critics, including many people who call for public inquests, insist police reviews rarely shed light on shootings or lead to significant changes in policy.
At this point, it's impossible to know what standard of critical review Roberts will insist on or where he'll decide to lead us in this area.
He will, no doubt, call for more training money for officers. And that's fine. But training is only the very tip of this iceberg. The Clackamas County deputy involved in the shooting was well-trained, both in crisis intervention and in dealing with suspects suffering from mental illness or addiction.
Regardless of what the shooting review board decides about Kaady's death, Roberts should take this opportunity to lay out an aggressive set of guidelines for use of deadly force, and make it clear he intends to enforce them --no exceptions.
And other police departments in the county should follow his lead.
We owe that to the Kaady family. And to the two deputies who felt they had no choice but to pull the trigger.
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Burned! - Once Again, A Grand Jury Excuses Police Shooting
from the Portland Mercury
This much is known: Fouad Kaady, a 27-year-old Gresham man, was involved in at least one auto accident in Sandy on September 8. That collision possibly ignited a gas can in his car, which left him badly burned and with a head injury. Shortly thereafter, the young man was found walking naked down the street.
But when police arrived on the scene, instead of treating Kaady for medical concerns, they began treating him like a criminal, ordering him to lie down on the pavement. (One witness said that Kaady's skin was hanging off in places, and that he sat instead of lying on the ground.)
When officers were unable to force Kaady to lie on the ground, they shot him with a taser gun, which apparently only caused him to act more wildly. Moments later, he climbed to the top of a squad car. In response, at least one of the officers fired at him. Kaady died at the scene.
Immediate news reports said the officers thought Kaady might be armed, although they didn't offer any details as to where a naked man would conceal a weapon.
In response, a grand jury convened in Clackamas County for five days last week, examining evidence and listening to witness testimony. Each day, protestors gathered outside the Oregon City courthouse and witnesses steadfastly told media outlets that they believed the shooting to be unjustified. But on Monday, the grand jury ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to pursue a criminal charge, meaning the officers won't stand trial for Kaady's death.
At press time, it was unclear if Kaady's family will file a wrongful death civil lawsuit. It was also unclear if either the Sandy police or Clackamas County sheriff's office plans to conduct an internal investigation.
The shooting again calls into question the grand jury hearing and process. Under current state law, the court's records will remain sealed. During the recent legislative session, State Senator Avel Gordley (D-Portland), spurred on by the 2003 Kendra James shootings, tried to pass a law that would have allowed public access to grand jury records. That bill failed.
This much is known: Fouad Kaady, a 27-year-old Gresham man, was involved in at least one auto accident in Sandy on September 8. That collision possibly ignited a gas can in his car, which left him badly burned and with a head injury. Shortly thereafter, the young man was found walking naked down the street.
But when police arrived on the scene, instead of treating Kaady for medical concerns, they began treating him like a criminal, ordering him to lie down on the pavement. (One witness said that Kaady's skin was hanging off in places, and that he sat instead of lying on the ground.)
When officers were unable to force Kaady to lie on the ground, they shot him with a taser gun, which apparently only caused him to act more wildly. Moments later, he climbed to the top of a squad car. In response, at least one of the officers fired at him. Kaady died at the scene.
Immediate news reports said the officers thought Kaady might be armed, although they didn't offer any details as to where a naked man would conceal a weapon.
In response, a grand jury convened in Clackamas County for five days last week, examining evidence and listening to witness testimony. Each day, protestors gathered outside the Oregon City courthouse and witnesses steadfastly told media outlets that they believed the shooting to be unjustified. But on Monday, the grand jury ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to pursue a criminal charge, meaning the officers won't stand trial for Kaady's death.
At press time, it was unclear if Kaady's family will file a wrongful death civil lawsuit. It was also unclear if either the Sandy police or Clackamas County sheriff's office plans to conduct an internal investigation.
The shooting again calls into question the grand jury hearing and process. Under current state law, the court's records will remain sealed. During the recent legislative session, State Senator Avel Gordley (D-Portland), spurred on by the 2003 Kendra James shootings, tried to pass a law that would have allowed public access to grand jury records. That bill failed.
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
Kaady death should spur a public inquest
from the Oregonian
Finally, a plausible explanation has emerged for the bizarre --and terrifying --behavior Fouad Kaady displayed Sept. 8, before he was shot and killed by a Sandy police officer and a Clackamas County sheriff's deputy. On Sunday, The Oregonian's Eric Mortenson and Stuart Tomlinson reported on their hypothesis, backed up by their own research, that Kaady may have been suffering from something called "excited delirium."
Although no one knows for sure, and it's not clear what might have triggered the condition, the explanation seems to fit what the 27-year-old Gresham High School graduate did that day. In tearing off his clothes, growling like an animal and pressing forward, unfazed, after absorbing high-voltage shocks from stun guns, Kaady mirrored textbook symptoms of this mental breakdown.
It's not a well-known phenomenon, but some law enforcement agencies (notably in Canada) are starting to wise up about it, train for it and treat it as a medical emergency, not a criminal problem. Police are seeing it more because it can be triggered by methamphetamine use, although there's no indication that this drug played a part in Kaady's case. In the hours before he died, though, Kaady's strange behavior gave rise to at least a dozen 9-1-1 calls.
Some people who saw him that day were worried; others terrified. No one who reported on his behavior could have envied the Sandy police officer and Clackamas County sheriff's deputy who actually had to confront Kaady. A Clackamas County grand jury exonerated the officers last week of any criminal misconduct, but that won't eliminate questions about this shooting. Neither will the reviews planned by the two law enforcement agencies involved.
No, those efforts won't be enough. Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote should hold a public inquest, similar to the one Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk held into a Portland police shooting. Pinning down what was wrong with Kaady is important, but the larger question is whether officers could have handled this case differently. A public inquest offers the best hope of illuminating what happened.
In the Kaady case, it's not only Kaady's family and friends who deserve a public inquest. The two officers involved deserve to tell their side of the story to the public, too.
Finally, a plausible explanation has emerged for the bizarre --and terrifying --behavior Fouad Kaady displayed Sept. 8, before he was shot and killed by a Sandy police officer and a Clackamas County sheriff's deputy. On Sunday, The Oregonian's Eric Mortenson and Stuart Tomlinson reported on their hypothesis, backed up by their own research, that Kaady may have been suffering from something called "excited delirium."
Although no one knows for sure, and it's not clear what might have triggered the condition, the explanation seems to fit what the 27-year-old Gresham High School graduate did that day. In tearing off his clothes, growling like an animal and pressing forward, unfazed, after absorbing high-voltage shocks from stun guns, Kaady mirrored textbook symptoms of this mental breakdown.
It's not a well-known phenomenon, but some law enforcement agencies (notably in Canada) are starting to wise up about it, train for it and treat it as a medical emergency, not a criminal problem. Police are seeing it more because it can be triggered by methamphetamine use, although there's no indication that this drug played a part in Kaady's case. In the hours before he died, though, Kaady's strange behavior gave rise to at least a dozen 9-1-1 calls.
Some people who saw him that day were worried; others terrified. No one who reported on his behavior could have envied the Sandy police officer and Clackamas County sheriff's deputy who actually had to confront Kaady. A Clackamas County grand jury exonerated the officers last week of any criminal misconduct, but that won't eliminate questions about this shooting. Neither will the reviews planned by the two law enforcement agencies involved.
No, those efforts won't be enough. Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote should hold a public inquest, similar to the one Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk held into a Portland police shooting. Pinning down what was wrong with Kaady is important, but the larger question is whether officers could have handled this case differently. A public inquest offers the best hope of illuminating what happened.
In the Kaady case, it's not only Kaady's family and friends who deserve a public inquest. The two officers involved deserve to tell their side of the story to the public, too.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Man killed by police possibly ill
from the Oregonian
A Gresham man whose bizarre, violent behavior resulted in his being killed by police exhibited textbook signs of "excited delirium," a rare but often deadly medical condition associated with illegal drug use, mental illness or injury, experts say.
Fouad Kaady was naked, bleeding and standing atop a police car when officers shot him Sept. 8. Last week, a grand jury found no wrongdoing on the part of the officers when they killed the unarmed man, but some public criticism remains.
As a review of the case continues, experts say excited delirium --a condition many Oregon police agencies don't train for, including one involved in the shooting --could explain Kaady's actions.
Excited delirium is of growing concern to law enforcement internationally, particularly in connection with the rise in methamphetamine abuse. That drug, however, does not appear to have been involved in this case.
Canadian police have taken the lead in addressing this condition, developing a national training package on excited delirium and seeking funding for an epidemiological study of suspects who show such symptoms. Under new policies, the Victoria, B.C., police department now treats excited delirium cases as medical emergencies, rather than criminal episodes.
U.S. agencies are beginning to follow suit. The Oakland, Calif., police department recently adopted Victoria's training standards. And Canadian experts presented their findings at a police conference in Las Vegas this year.
In Portland, police training was revamped after the shooting of Jose Santos Victor Mejia Poot when he became uncontrollable at a mental health center in April 2001. The Portland Police Bureau reassessed how to deal with mentally ill subjects and provided officers with more crisis intervention training.
But the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, one of the departments involved in the Kaady shooting, offers no training about the condition.
"To be honest, I've never heard of this," said Sgt. Nick Watt, crisis intervention trainer for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. "It's not part of the training at Clackamas County. It sounds like something we ought to teach."
The Sandy Police Department, which also had an officer involved, did not respond to questions about training.
Officers not charged
Kaady, 27, was naked, growling and had shaken off high-voltage shocks from stun guns when he threatened to kill the officers, multiple witnesses said.
Deputy David E. Willard and Officer William J. Bergin shot the unarmed man seven times. A Clackamas County grand jury heard testimony from at least 40 witnesses and decided last week not to bring charges against Willard and Bergin. Both have returned to duty.
Kaady's family and friends bitterly criticized the decision and have retained Portland attorney Shannon Connall to represent them.
Kaady's family insists he had no history of mental illness and did not take hard drugs. They think his behavior was caused by the shock of being badly burned in a car wreck about a half-hour before the shooting.
Dr. Chris Young, deputy state medical examiner, told investigators he thought Kaady's behavior was caused by drug intoxication, and that there was a possibility of it being caused by shock. Asked by an investigator about excited delirium, Young said he was not aware of it, according to a Sept. 20 report.
Police have not determined a root cause of the incident, but "it sounds like the classic excited delirium, it really does," said Acting Inspector Darren Laur of the Victoria, B.C., police department. Laur has published research on the subject and is involved in a Canadian effort to improve training and to fund an epidemiological study of suspects who fight with police and show signs of excited delirium.
Suspects in the throes of excited delirium commonly display incredible strength, are impervious to pain, growl like an animal, are aggressive and take off their clothing because they become superheated.
"They are very, very warm," Laur said. "We had a guy in Victoria with a core temperature of 112 degrees. That's why these people will shed their clothing --they're so hot they're trying to cool themselves."
Researchers think excited delirium is associated with drug use, particularly cocaine and methamphetamine, or mental illness. Marijuana use combined with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia also has been linked to the condition.
Officials have confirmed that Kaady had traces of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his system. Samira Kaady, his mother, said the family is awaiting additional toxicology reports.
Drug abuse and mental illness can result in large amounts of dopamine being released in the brain. Dopamine controls the body temperature and is one of the main neurotransmitters for the "fight or flight" response, according to Laur and medical researchers.
When officers try to take the person into custody, it typically takes numerous officers to overcome the suspect's strength and endurance, said Canadian police researcher Chris Lawrence.
Lawrence, defensive tactics supervisor at Ontario Police College, and others have called for changes in police training to address excited delirium. Among other ideas, they say paramedics should be called in immediately so it can be treated as a medical emergency.
If it's possible to back off and wait for additional officers and medics, police should do so, Lawrence said.
Dangerous situation
Victoria police are doing just that.
"The quicker we can control them and hand them over to medical personnel, the better," said inspector Laur. "Now if there's an arrest, we go through a checklist: Irrational, animal sounds, partly clothed --they don't come to a cell, they go to a hospital."
But treatment can't occur until the suspect is controlled, and that's difficult, Laur said.
"It puts police in a Catch-22 situation," he said. "It's extremely dangerous; they feel no pain. A lot of traditional control tactics won't work."
Reports make clear that Willard and Bergin, the officers who shot Kaady, were startled by his behavior and felt threatened.
"I just knew that if we were to get hands on with him in a physical fight, I mean, there would have been no stopping him," Bergin told an investigator. "I mean, he would have not, not felt anything."
Willard told an investigator he recalled thinking, "Oh my God, I'm Tasing this guy (with a stun gun) and he's getting up."
Based on a synopsis of the Kaady shooting, Laur said, it appeared Willard and Bergin "did everything they could to control that situation."
Laur declined to comment on the officers' use of lethal force but said withdrawing "may not have been an option."
He and Lawrence, of the Ontario Police College, said training must be "tweaked" to treat the cases as medical emergencies.
Such training in Oregon varies by department.
Cameron Campbell, director of training for the Department of Public Safety, Standards and Training in Monmouth, said new recruits receive three hours of mental health crisis intervention training during their 10 weeks of basic training at the academy.
Portland police officers receive an additional 20 hours of supplementary crisis training, said the bureau's crisis intervention coordinator, Officer Paul Ware.
Ware said the training includes how to recognize what the bureau calls "hyperstimulation and agitated delirium."
Gresham police training closely mirrors what Portland officers receive, including how to recognize and respond to excited delirium, Gresham spokesman Officer Grant McCormick said.
"We're telling our people to ask for more cover" when they confront people in such a state, Ware said. "Don't do the cowboy thing and go at it alone unless the fight comes to you."
A Gresham man whose bizarre, violent behavior resulted in his being killed by police exhibited textbook signs of "excited delirium," a rare but often deadly medical condition associated with illegal drug use, mental illness or injury, experts say.
Fouad Kaady was naked, bleeding and standing atop a police car when officers shot him Sept. 8. Last week, a grand jury found no wrongdoing on the part of the officers when they killed the unarmed man, but some public criticism remains.
As a review of the case continues, experts say excited delirium --a condition many Oregon police agencies don't train for, including one involved in the shooting --could explain Kaady's actions.
Excited delirium is of growing concern to law enforcement internationally, particularly in connection with the rise in methamphetamine abuse. That drug, however, does not appear to have been involved in this case.
Canadian police have taken the lead in addressing this condition, developing a national training package on excited delirium and seeking funding for an epidemiological study of suspects who show such symptoms. Under new policies, the Victoria, B.C., police department now treats excited delirium cases as medical emergencies, rather than criminal episodes.
U.S. agencies are beginning to follow suit. The Oakland, Calif., police department recently adopted Victoria's training standards. And Canadian experts presented their findings at a police conference in Las Vegas this year.
In Portland, police training was revamped after the shooting of Jose Santos Victor Mejia Poot when he became uncontrollable at a mental health center in April 2001. The Portland Police Bureau reassessed how to deal with mentally ill subjects and provided officers with more crisis intervention training.
But the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, one of the departments involved in the Kaady shooting, offers no training about the condition.
"To be honest, I've never heard of this," said Sgt. Nick Watt, crisis intervention trainer for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. "It's not part of the training at Clackamas County. It sounds like something we ought to teach."
The Sandy Police Department, which also had an officer involved, did not respond to questions about training.
Officers not charged
Kaady, 27, was naked, growling and had shaken off high-voltage shocks from stun guns when he threatened to kill the officers, multiple witnesses said.
Deputy David E. Willard and Officer William J. Bergin shot the unarmed man seven times. A Clackamas County grand jury heard testimony from at least 40 witnesses and decided last week not to bring charges against Willard and Bergin. Both have returned to duty.
Kaady's family and friends bitterly criticized the decision and have retained Portland attorney Shannon Connall to represent them.
Kaady's family insists he had no history of mental illness and did not take hard drugs. They think his behavior was caused by the shock of being badly burned in a car wreck about a half-hour before the shooting.
Dr. Chris Young, deputy state medical examiner, told investigators he thought Kaady's behavior was caused by drug intoxication, and that there was a possibility of it being caused by shock. Asked by an investigator about excited delirium, Young said he was not aware of it, according to a Sept. 20 report.
Police have not determined a root cause of the incident, but "it sounds like the classic excited delirium, it really does," said Acting Inspector Darren Laur of the Victoria, B.C., police department. Laur has published research on the subject and is involved in a Canadian effort to improve training and to fund an epidemiological study of suspects who fight with police and show signs of excited delirium.
Suspects in the throes of excited delirium commonly display incredible strength, are impervious to pain, growl like an animal, are aggressive and take off their clothing because they become superheated.
"They are very, very warm," Laur said. "We had a guy in Victoria with a core temperature of 112 degrees. That's why these people will shed their clothing --they're so hot they're trying to cool themselves."
Researchers think excited delirium is associated with drug use, particularly cocaine and methamphetamine, or mental illness. Marijuana use combined with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia also has been linked to the condition.
Officials have confirmed that Kaady had traces of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his system. Samira Kaady, his mother, said the family is awaiting additional toxicology reports.
Drug abuse and mental illness can result in large amounts of dopamine being released in the brain. Dopamine controls the body temperature and is one of the main neurotransmitters for the "fight or flight" response, according to Laur and medical researchers.
When officers try to take the person into custody, it typically takes numerous officers to overcome the suspect's strength and endurance, said Canadian police researcher Chris Lawrence.
Lawrence, defensive tactics supervisor at Ontario Police College, and others have called for changes in police training to address excited delirium. Among other ideas, they say paramedics should be called in immediately so it can be treated as a medical emergency.
If it's possible to back off and wait for additional officers and medics, police should do so, Lawrence said.
Dangerous situation
Victoria police are doing just that.
"The quicker we can control them and hand them over to medical personnel, the better," said inspector Laur. "Now if there's an arrest, we go through a checklist: Irrational, animal sounds, partly clothed --they don't come to a cell, they go to a hospital."
But treatment can't occur until the suspect is controlled, and that's difficult, Laur said.
"It puts police in a Catch-22 situation," he said. "It's extremely dangerous; they feel no pain. A lot of traditional control tactics won't work."
Reports make clear that Willard and Bergin, the officers who shot Kaady, were startled by his behavior and felt threatened.
"I just knew that if we were to get hands on with him in a physical fight, I mean, there would have been no stopping him," Bergin told an investigator. "I mean, he would have not, not felt anything."
Willard told an investigator he recalled thinking, "Oh my God, I'm Tasing this guy (with a stun gun) and he's getting up."
Based on a synopsis of the Kaady shooting, Laur said, it appeared Willard and Bergin "did everything they could to control that situation."
Laur declined to comment on the officers' use of lethal force but said withdrawing "may not have been an option."
He and Lawrence, of the Ontario Police College, said training must be "tweaked" to treat the cases as medical emergencies.
Such training in Oregon varies by department.
Cameron Campbell, director of training for the Department of Public Safety, Standards and Training in Monmouth, said new recruits receive three hours of mental health crisis intervention training during their 10 weeks of basic training at the academy.
Portland police officers receive an additional 20 hours of supplementary crisis training, said the bureau's crisis intervention coordinator, Officer Paul Ware.
Ware said the training includes how to recognize what the bureau calls "hyperstimulation and agitated delirium."
Gresham police training closely mirrors what Portland officers receive, including how to recognize and respond to excited delirium, Gresham spokesman Officer Grant McCormick said.
"We're telling our people to ask for more cover" when they confront people in such a state, Ware said. "Don't do the cowboy thing and go at it alone unless the fight comes to you."
Shooting timeline
from the Oregonian
Clackamas County investigators have reconstructed the events of Sept. 8, the day 27-year-old Fouad Kaady was killed during a confrontation with police. Some of this timeline also comes from independent sources and 9-1-1 and police radio recordings:
6:50 a.m.: Kaady, wearing only a sport coat and pants, drives his green Toyota pickup into a parking lot at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham. Construction workers tell investigators he looks high and is blowing marijuana smoke out the windows. Kaady gets out, sticks eight cigarettes in his mouth and lights them.
7 a.m.: Kaady drives away when security guards arrive, his truck jumping several earthen berms.
7:30-8 a.m.: Kaady, wearing a suit, arrives at the home of his father, Rachid Kaady. His behavior seems fine.
9:47 a.m.: Kaady buys two packs of cigarettes at a convenience store at Southeast Stark Street and 214th Avenue. He tells the store owner, Rudd McGarrity, that he's "not okay."
12:30 p.m.: Kaady parks his pickup at a Rick's Custom Fencing, Southeast 202nd Avenue and Stark Street. Workers there report a man, wearing only boxer shorts, running toward 202nd and Stark. Kaady soon drives toward Sandy in his parents' Buick.
1:27 p.m.: A northbound car smashes into the back of 19-year-old Tiffany Stanko's car on Southeast Bluff Road. Stanko complains of neck and back pain. "He totally rear-ended me. . . . It's an old Buick . . . blue."
1:27 p.m.: Carol Vinnacomb, who lives on Southeast Bluff Road, reports seeing a blue Buick pass her after running into the back of another car. The driver looks at her with "wild look in eyes." Smoke is pouring from the car's engine compartment.
1:29 p.m.: Greg Elwell of Boring calls 9-1-1 after a Buick rear-ends his pickup several times. "They've got to get somebody after this guy."
1:30 p.m.: A car rear-ends the pickup of Frayne McAtee of Boring, then veers off Bluff Road and catches fire in the ditch.
1:31 p.m.: Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David Willard reports that he's en route to the call.
1:32 p.m.: Sandy police Officer William Bergin is en route to the call.
1:37 p.m.: Tamara Sedgewick calls 9-1-1 to report that the driver of a burning Buick is in the woods nearby, naked and "extremely combative." She says a man who went to help the driver was assaulted. She tells dispatchers she thinks the driver has a gun and is "high on drugs."
1:56 p.m.: A caller to 9-1-1 reports seeing a naked man walking north of 362nd Avenue, "all cut up."
1:56 p.m.: Deputy Willard jumps into thepatrol car with Officer Bergin because his patrol car is surrounded by firetrucks. The two drive north on Bluff Road and left onto 362nd Avenue.
1:58 p.m.: Elaine Thornlimb calls 9-1-1 to report that a naked man just jumped onto her car on 362nd. "I'm not sure what he's gonna do . . . he's not in the right mind right now. He's walking towards Cottrell School. I see the police now. I'm afraid he might try and attack them."
1:59 p.m.: Willard and Bergin stop on 362nd, just south of the Bluff Road intersection. A man sits cross-legged about a foot off the shoulder of the road. Willard sees the man is seriously injured and calls for Code 3 medics and backup. Dispatch asks to confirm the location, but Willard does not respond. Both officers try to subdue Kaady with Tasers. Kaady laughs and pulls Taser barbs out of his skin. Kaady leaps onto the police car, moving from the hood to the roof. He shouts at the officers "I'm going to kill you."
2 p.m.: Willard calls again for Code 3 medics and says shots have been fired. "Suspect is down," Willard tells dispatchers. Paramedics are waved to where Kaady lies.
2:04 p.m.: "He's gone," a paramedic tells Willard.
Clackamas County investigators have reconstructed the events of Sept. 8, the day 27-year-old Fouad Kaady was killed during a confrontation with police. Some of this timeline also comes from independent sources and 9-1-1 and police radio recordings:
6:50 a.m.: Kaady, wearing only a sport coat and pants, drives his green Toyota pickup into a parking lot at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham. Construction workers tell investigators he looks high and is blowing marijuana smoke out the windows. Kaady gets out, sticks eight cigarettes in his mouth and lights them.
7 a.m.: Kaady drives away when security guards arrive, his truck jumping several earthen berms.
7:30-8 a.m.: Kaady, wearing a suit, arrives at the home of his father, Rachid Kaady. His behavior seems fine.
9:47 a.m.: Kaady buys two packs of cigarettes at a convenience store at Southeast Stark Street and 214th Avenue. He tells the store owner, Rudd McGarrity, that he's "not okay."
12:30 p.m.: Kaady parks his pickup at a Rick's Custom Fencing, Southeast 202nd Avenue and Stark Street. Workers there report a man, wearing only boxer shorts, running toward 202nd and Stark. Kaady soon drives toward Sandy in his parents' Buick.
1:27 p.m.: A northbound car smashes into the back of 19-year-old Tiffany Stanko's car on Southeast Bluff Road. Stanko complains of neck and back pain. "He totally rear-ended me. . . . It's an old Buick . . . blue."
1:27 p.m.: Carol Vinnacomb, who lives on Southeast Bluff Road, reports seeing a blue Buick pass her after running into the back of another car. The driver looks at her with "wild look in eyes." Smoke is pouring from the car's engine compartment.
1:29 p.m.: Greg Elwell of Boring calls 9-1-1 after a Buick rear-ends his pickup several times. "They've got to get somebody after this guy."
1:30 p.m.: A car rear-ends the pickup of Frayne McAtee of Boring, then veers off Bluff Road and catches fire in the ditch.
1:31 p.m.: Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David Willard reports that he's en route to the call.
1:32 p.m.: Sandy police Officer William Bergin is en route to the call.
1:37 p.m.: Tamara Sedgewick calls 9-1-1 to report that the driver of a burning Buick is in the woods nearby, naked and "extremely combative." She says a man who went to help the driver was assaulted. She tells dispatchers she thinks the driver has a gun and is "high on drugs."
1:56 p.m.: A caller to 9-1-1 reports seeing a naked man walking north of 362nd Avenue, "all cut up."
1:56 p.m.: Deputy Willard jumps into thepatrol car with Officer Bergin because his patrol car is surrounded by firetrucks. The two drive north on Bluff Road and left onto 362nd Avenue.
1:58 p.m.: Elaine Thornlimb calls 9-1-1 to report that a naked man just jumped onto her car on 362nd. "I'm not sure what he's gonna do . . . he's not in the right mind right now. He's walking towards Cottrell School. I see the police now. I'm afraid he might try and attack them."
1:59 p.m.: Willard and Bergin stop on 362nd, just south of the Bluff Road intersection. A man sits cross-legged about a foot off the shoulder of the road. Willard sees the man is seriously injured and calls for Code 3 medics and backup. Dispatch asks to confirm the location, but Willard does not respond. Both officers try to subdue Kaady with Tasers. Kaady laughs and pulls Taser barbs out of his skin. Kaady leaps onto the police car, moving from the hood to the roof. He shouts at the officers "I'm going to kill you."
2 p.m.: Willard calls again for Code 3 medics and says shots have been fired. "Suspect is down," Willard tells dispatchers. Paramedics are waved to where Kaady lies.
2:04 p.m.: "He's gone," a paramedic tells Willard.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Kaady shooting: 'Are any of us safe?'
from the Oregonian
I just cannot believe that the Clackamas County grand jury decided to clear the police officer and sheriff's deputy who shot and killed a naked, injured, burned and confused young man in Sandy on Sept. 8 ("Jury clears two officers in fatal shooting," Oct. 25).
Are any of us safe? What kind of training are "peace" officers given in this state? Are we all in danger of being shot down if we behave in unusual ways?
CLAUDIA O'DRISCOLL, Colton
How would you feel if a member of your family was gunned down for being uncontrollable, doing no harm to anyone but [being] oh-so-naked?
Would it be too much to ask that patience be offered to calm things down and the man brought under control? Was this man so big that he scared presumably well-trained law enforcement officers to the point that they felt threatened by his size or maybe his nakedness?
Animals are tranquilized if they are uncontrollable. Why not human beings? Is life so cheap that we do not have the time to consider the options before taking such severe action?
I truly believe in the institution of [public] safety and that the majority of officers uphold the law and do their best to protect us. However, when they themselves approve of this kind of action by their own against a naked, unarmed man, I question my continued belief in them.
PETTER MOE, Southwest Portland
In response to the several news items about the death of Fouad Kaady, there is no doubt that Kaady's actions were irrational and confrontational, and that he instilled fear in those around him in his last moments.
[However,] he was unarmed --which should have been obvious once he started moving around with no clothes on.
Since the officers came upon him in a catatonic or disassociative state, it seems that they would have been aware there could be some noncompliance. If they felt in danger, why did they not back up 10 paces and call for some backup?
One snarling yet unarmed person atop a vehicle could not be a large enough threat to warrant deadly force.
There is a large portion of the population that is irrational for one reason or another and that law enforcement often must contend with.
We both work in the medical and mental health field. Over the years we have had many threats hurled at us. Someone does not deserve to die just because he is irrational and cannot follow orders.
Our hope is that the police department inquiries will come up with protocols and training programs [to deal with irrational people]. This could ensure that this [type of] incident is not repeated.
DENNIS and SHEREE HOBSON, Southeast Portland
The shooting death of Fouad Kaady is a travesty. Another "shoot now and ask questions later" action that was taken by the ones who are sworn to "serve and protect the public."
The Sandy police officer and Clackamas County sheriff's deputy said that they feared for their lives [because] of a nude man who had been sitting in the street. They stated that he may have had a gun and was acting crazy. I suppose it was good police work that made them suspect he had a weapon hidden in one of the cavities of his body.
There seem to have been more police shootings in the last 10 years than ever before. Part of [my] growing concern is the fact that in most cases, it's only the police who saw what happened.
JERRY SCHNEIDER, Hillsboro
I just cannot believe that the Clackamas County grand jury decided to clear the police officer and sheriff's deputy who shot and killed a naked, injured, burned and confused young man in Sandy on Sept. 8 ("Jury clears two officers in fatal shooting," Oct. 25).
Are any of us safe? What kind of training are "peace" officers given in this state? Are we all in danger of being shot down if we behave in unusual ways?
CLAUDIA O'DRISCOLL, Colton
How would you feel if a member of your family was gunned down for being uncontrollable, doing no harm to anyone but [being] oh-so-naked?
Would it be too much to ask that patience be offered to calm things down and the man brought under control? Was this man so big that he scared presumably well-trained law enforcement officers to the point that they felt threatened by his size or maybe his nakedness?
Animals are tranquilized if they are uncontrollable. Why not human beings? Is life so cheap that we do not have the time to consider the options before taking such severe action?
I truly believe in the institution of [public] safety and that the majority of officers uphold the law and do their best to protect us. However, when they themselves approve of this kind of action by their own against a naked, unarmed man, I question my continued belief in them.
PETTER MOE, Southwest Portland
In response to the several news items about the death of Fouad Kaady, there is no doubt that Kaady's actions were irrational and confrontational, and that he instilled fear in those around him in his last moments.
[However,] he was unarmed --which should have been obvious once he started moving around with no clothes on.
Since the officers came upon him in a catatonic or disassociative state, it seems that they would have been aware there could be some noncompliance. If they felt in danger, why did they not back up 10 paces and call for some backup?
One snarling yet unarmed person atop a vehicle could not be a large enough threat to warrant deadly force.
There is a large portion of the population that is irrational for one reason or another and that law enforcement often must contend with.
We both work in the medical and mental health field. Over the years we have had many threats hurled at us. Someone does not deserve to die just because he is irrational and cannot follow orders.
Our hope is that the police department inquiries will come up with protocols and training programs [to deal with irrational people]. This could ensure that this [type of] incident is not repeated.
DENNIS and SHEREE HOBSON, Southeast Portland
The shooting death of Fouad Kaady is a travesty. Another "shoot now and ask questions later" action that was taken by the ones who are sworn to "serve and protect the public."
The Sandy police officer and Clackamas County sheriff's deputy said that they feared for their lives [because] of a nude man who had been sitting in the street. They stated that he may have had a gun and was acting crazy. I suppose it was good police work that made them suspect he had a weapon hidden in one of the cavities of his body.
There seem to have been more police shootings in the last 10 years than ever before. Part of [my] growing concern is the fact that in most cases, it's only the police who saw what happened.
JERRY SCHNEIDER, Hillsboro
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Grand jury clears officer, deputy who shot naked man
from KGW.com
SANDY -- An officer and a deputy were justified in fatally shooting a naked, unarmed Gresham man last month, according to a Clackamas County grand jury that ruled Monday there was no criminal wrongdoing on the part of the authorities involved.
"The grand jury in this case had a very specific responsibility. Under Oregon law, their job was to determine if all the evidence taken together proved that a crime was committed," said Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote. "The grand jury members did not find that they were convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that there was evidence that a crime had been committed by these police officers."
Fouad Kaady, 27, was shot and killed after his car crashed in flames on a rural road near the town of Sandy. The sheriff's office identified the pair who shot and killed him as 24-year-old William Bergin, a Sandy Police officer, and 44-year-old Deputy David Willard of the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office.
His family maintains police overreacted when Kaady was obviously suffering from burns and needed help. But some authorities and witnesses at the time of the shooting had contended that Kaady was acting like he was on drugs -- even though no toxicology reports have yet been released.
Foote said the grand jury heard a great deal of testimony that led them to their conclusion. He indicated there are very strict standards to bring a criminal charge in this type of case.
“These seven grand jurors have worked extremely hard on this case. Over the past five days, they have listened to the testimony of more than 40 witnesses,” Foote said. “Unlike anyone else, they have had the opportunity to observe each person who testified and evaluate their reliability and credibility.”
There will still be a formal internal review, as is procedure following all police-involved shootings, according to Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts, who spoke briefly during a news conference Monday afternoon that followed the grand jury's decision.
Roberts said the shooting review board will release recommendations within 30 days that will outline whether the officer and deputy involved followed proper policies and procedures during the incident as well as whether they used the correct tactics and equipment.
Last week, at least two witnesses testified before the grand jury that Kaady should not have been shot.
“I have no idea why they shot him. I honestly don’t. I thought they were there to help him," witness Elaine Thornlimb told KGW.
She said she called 9-1-1 when she saw him bleeding, burned and naked, walking alongside the road north of Sandy. She said at first he smiled and waved, but as she followed him, he grew agitated.
“At one point he did turn around, yell something and jump on my car and jumped up and down on my sun roof and left blood on my car,” she said. Kaady wasn't armed.
On the day of the deadly shooting, the officers received a report of a hit-and-run car accident and arrived to find Kaady naked. As police tried to get him under control, he became combative, they said. The officers tried to taser him but were not able to get Kaady to calm down.
At one point Kaady got on top of a patrol vehicle, which is when at least one of the officers shot him. Kaady died at the scene.
“There must be an accountability of some sort to those that misused their position of authority to use it to take life when life should not have been taken,” Zania Kaady, Fouad Kaady's sister said last week as protesters gathered outside the courthouse while grand jurors heard testimony in the case.
SANDY -- An officer and a deputy were justified in fatally shooting a naked, unarmed Gresham man last month, according to a Clackamas County grand jury that ruled Monday there was no criminal wrongdoing on the part of the authorities involved.
"The grand jury in this case had a very specific responsibility. Under Oregon law, their job was to determine if all the evidence taken together proved that a crime was committed," said Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote. "The grand jury members did not find that they were convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that there was evidence that a crime had been committed by these police officers."
Fouad Kaady, 27, was shot and killed after his car crashed in flames on a rural road near the town of Sandy. The sheriff's office identified the pair who shot and killed him as 24-year-old William Bergin, a Sandy Police officer, and 44-year-old Deputy David Willard of the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office.
His family maintains police overreacted when Kaady was obviously suffering from burns and needed help. But some authorities and witnesses at the time of the shooting had contended that Kaady was acting like he was on drugs -- even though no toxicology reports have yet been released.
Foote said the grand jury heard a great deal of testimony that led them to their conclusion. He indicated there are very strict standards to bring a criminal charge in this type of case.
“These seven grand jurors have worked extremely hard on this case. Over the past five days, they have listened to the testimony of more than 40 witnesses,” Foote said. “Unlike anyone else, they have had the opportunity to observe each person who testified and evaluate their reliability and credibility.”
There will still be a formal internal review, as is procedure following all police-involved shootings, according to Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts, who spoke briefly during a news conference Monday afternoon that followed the grand jury's decision.
Roberts said the shooting review board will release recommendations within 30 days that will outline whether the officer and deputy involved followed proper policies and procedures during the incident as well as whether they used the correct tactics and equipment.
Last week, at least two witnesses testified before the grand jury that Kaady should not have been shot.
“I have no idea why they shot him. I honestly don’t. I thought they were there to help him," witness Elaine Thornlimb told KGW.
She said she called 9-1-1 when she saw him bleeding, burned and naked, walking alongside the road north of Sandy. She said at first he smiled and waved, but as she followed him, he grew agitated.
“At one point he did turn around, yell something and jump on my car and jumped up and down on my sun roof and left blood on my car,” she said. Kaady wasn't armed.
On the day of the deadly shooting, the officers received a report of a hit-and-run car accident and arrived to find Kaady naked. As police tried to get him under control, he became combative, they said. The officers tried to taser him but were not able to get Kaady to calm down.
At one point Kaady got on top of a patrol vehicle, which is when at least one of the officers shot him. Kaady died at the scene.
“There must be an accountability of some sort to those that misused their position of authority to use it to take life when life should not have been taken,” Zania Kaady, Fouad Kaady's sister said last week as protesters gathered outside the courthouse while grand jurors heard testimony in the case.
Files detail fatal police shooting
from the Oregonian
OREGON CITY -- During the final moments of Fouad Kaady's life, he growled like a wild animal, bared his teeth and told two officers he was going to kill them.
By all accounts, Kaady had behaved bizarrely Sept. 8, the day he died after the officers fired seven shots into the burned, bleeding body of the naked 27-year-old man.
Based on transcripts of interviews officers gave investigators, documents released Monday by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office described the events leading up to the 2 p.m. shooting.
Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard first encountered Kaady naked and sitting cross-legged on the edge of 362nd Avenue north of Sandy. Kaady, whose head was down, was "kind of just sitting there rocking," Bergin said. Willard described him as "catatonic."
Officers couldn't tell whether he had a gun but could see he was burned and bloody. They were unsure of Kaady's mental condition or whether he had used drugs. Willard said he tried to assure Kaady they were there to assist him.
"I said, 'Sir, we're gonna get you some help,' " Willard said. "I'm sort of assessing him physically. . . . I decide I'm not gonna let this man leave here again 'cause we'd heard about some pretty bizarre behavior. But secondly . . . I need to get this man medical help."
The officers told Kaady to move to a grassy area beside the road and lie on his stomach, or he would be shot with a stun gun. When Kaady did not do so, both officers fired their Tasers. The shocks didn't stop Kaady.
"I started to get scared about the kind of strength I was seeing," Willard said.
As Willard tried to reload his Taser, he said, Kaady started running toward him screaming, "I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna kill you."
Added Bergin: "(Kaady) was growling like a wild animal."
Kaady jumped on top of Bergin's squad car. Both officers aimed their handguns at Kaady, and Willard ordered him off.
Kaady, growling and making clawlike moves with his hands, turned toward Willard.
"When it appeared he was going to jump off the car at me, I fired," said Willard, who pulled the trigger three times.
Bergin said he did not know where Willard had put a shotgun. He feared Kaady might be going for the weapon. He fired five times. Kaady, less than 10 feet away, was hit seven times.
Moments later, a paramedic arrived. Kaady growled as she checked him, Willard said.
"Looking right at me and growling," Willard said.
The report also said:
* The state medical examiner's office said Kaady's erratic behavior could be the result of shock, but an injury to his head was minor and not likely the cause. Because of federal privacy laws, officials would not release the results of drug tests on Kaady's blood. However, his family said he had THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his system at the time of his death. Friends and other witnesses called before the grand jury said Kaady smoked marijuana, including on the morning of the day he died.
* Rudd McGarity, a store owner in Fairview, said Kaady was a regular customer, often stopping at his shop to buy cigarettes. The day Kaady died, McGarity told investigators, Kaady came into the store just before 10 a.m. looking "a little frazzled. . . . He had the look of somebody that just lost his family." Another friend, Sara Maness, 24, of Northwest Portland, told investigators that Kaady was acting as though he "lost it" the two to three weeks before the shooting. "It was just like he totally tripped out."
* Security guards and construction workers at Mount Hood Community College told investigators that just before 7 a.m. the day of the shooting, Kaady was doing 360-degree burnouts, accelerating at high speeds, and drove his pickup off a three-foot embankment. One witness said Kaady stuck eight cigarettes in his mouth and lit them all.
OREGON CITY -- During the final moments of Fouad Kaady's life, he growled like a wild animal, bared his teeth and told two officers he was going to kill them.
By all accounts, Kaady had behaved bizarrely Sept. 8, the day he died after the officers fired seven shots into the burned, bleeding body of the naked 27-year-old man.
Based on transcripts of interviews officers gave investigators, documents released Monday by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office described the events leading up to the 2 p.m. shooting.
Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard first encountered Kaady naked and sitting cross-legged on the edge of 362nd Avenue north of Sandy. Kaady, whose head was down, was "kind of just sitting there rocking," Bergin said. Willard described him as "catatonic."
Officers couldn't tell whether he had a gun but could see he was burned and bloody. They were unsure of Kaady's mental condition or whether he had used drugs. Willard said he tried to assure Kaady they were there to assist him.
"I said, 'Sir, we're gonna get you some help,' " Willard said. "I'm sort of assessing him physically. . . . I decide I'm not gonna let this man leave here again 'cause we'd heard about some pretty bizarre behavior. But secondly . . . I need to get this man medical help."
The officers told Kaady to move to a grassy area beside the road and lie on his stomach, or he would be shot with a stun gun. When Kaady did not do so, both officers fired their Tasers. The shocks didn't stop Kaady.
"I started to get scared about the kind of strength I was seeing," Willard said.
As Willard tried to reload his Taser, he said, Kaady started running toward him screaming, "I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna kill you."
Added Bergin: "(Kaady) was growling like a wild animal."
Kaady jumped on top of Bergin's squad car. Both officers aimed their handguns at Kaady, and Willard ordered him off.
Kaady, growling and making clawlike moves with his hands, turned toward Willard.
"When it appeared he was going to jump off the car at me, I fired," said Willard, who pulled the trigger three times.
Bergin said he did not know where Willard had put a shotgun. He feared Kaady might be going for the weapon. He fired five times. Kaady, less than 10 feet away, was hit seven times.
Moments later, a paramedic arrived. Kaady growled as she checked him, Willard said.
"Looking right at me and growling," Willard said.
The report also said:
* The state medical examiner's office said Kaady's erratic behavior could be the result of shock, but an injury to his head was minor and not likely the cause. Because of federal privacy laws, officials would not release the results of drug tests on Kaady's blood. However, his family said he had THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his system at the time of his death. Friends and other witnesses called before the grand jury said Kaady smoked marijuana, including on the morning of the day he died.
* Rudd McGarity, a store owner in Fairview, said Kaady was a regular customer, often stopping at his shop to buy cigarettes. The day Kaady died, McGarity told investigators, Kaady came into the store just before 10 a.m. looking "a little frazzled. . . . He had the look of somebody that just lost his family." Another friend, Sara Maness, 24, of Northwest Portland, told investigators that Kaady was acting as though he "lost it" the two to three weeks before the shooting. "It was just like he totally tripped out."
* Security guards and construction workers at Mount Hood Community College told investigators that just before 7 a.m. the day of the shooting, Kaady was doing 360-degree burnouts, accelerating at high speeds, and drove his pickup off a three-foot embankment. One witness said Kaady stuck eight cigarettes in his mouth and lit them all.
Jury clears officers in fatal shooting
from the Oregonian
A Clackamas County grand jury Monday voted not to indict a sheriff's deputy and a Sandy police officer who fatally shot a 27-year-old Gresham man last month.
Fouad Kaady died Sept. 8 of gunshot wounds on a rural highway north of Sandy after a bizarre chain of events.
Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote said the six-person jury heard testimony from at least 40 witnesses and visited the scene of the shooting last week.
"It was a challenging case, and the grand jury wanted to hear all the evidence," Foote said. "The grand jury members did not find that they were convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that there was evidence that a crime had been committed by these police officers. Their decision today deserves our respect and consideration."
Foote said at least five of the grand jurors, whose vote tally remains private, would have needed to vote "yes" to indict the two officers: Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin, 24, and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard, 46.
Kaady's family and friends condemned the grand jury's decision.
"It's a sad day for justice in Oregon when law-abiding citizens can be murdered in the streets when they are not a threat," said Albert Kaady, a cousin. "It's a mark of shame for Oregon."
A friend of Kaady's, Tereq Amhaz, 26, of Portland, said, "Everybody is really disappointed. It sure seems like police have a license to kill."
Fouad Kaady, who was suspected in at least three hit-and-run crashes in the hours before he died, was bloody, naked and combative, sheriff's officials said. He was unfazed by 50,000 volts from a stun gun and refused to respond to commands.
Both officers testified that Kaady jumped from the ground to the top of a police car in an instant as he screamed at the officers, "I'm gonna kill you!" They fired eight times, hitting Kaady with seven rounds. Kaady was unarmed.
"This is a case in which there are no winners," said Sandy Police Chief Harold Skelton. "A decision made in an instant can have results that will affect the individuals and the community for a lifetime."
Skelton said it was the first time a Sandy police officer has used lethal force.
Kaady's family said his bizarre behavior was not the result of drugs or mental illness, but of burns from a gasoline can that exploded into flames inside his car, and of a head injury suffered during one of the three car crashes.
One witness, Elaine Thornlimb of Boring, told the grand jury that Kaady had burned skin hanging from his arms. Paul White, who lived near the scene of the fatal shooting, said Kaady was grunting and howling as he walked along Southeast 362nd Avenue north of Sandy.
Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said his office will convene a shooting review board to examine the incident during the next 30 days. Skelton said the Sandy Police Department also will conduct an internal review of the shooting.
Roberts and Skelton offered their condolences to Kaady's family.
"We acknowledge the tragic loss to the Kaady family as we keep them in our thoughts and prayers," Skelton said in a statement.
Bergin was hired as a Sandy police officer in May, having previously worked as a Lincoln City police officer for about 1-1/2 years. Willard has been a Clackamas County deputy since 1994. He previously worked for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Willamina police and Portland Public Schools police.
Both men have been on paid administrative leave since the shooting and will remain on leave until their respective agencies complete reviews of the shooting.
A Clackamas County grand jury Monday voted not to indict a sheriff's deputy and a Sandy police officer who fatally shot a 27-year-old Gresham man last month.
Fouad Kaady died Sept. 8 of gunshot wounds on a rural highway north of Sandy after a bizarre chain of events.
Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote said the six-person jury heard testimony from at least 40 witnesses and visited the scene of the shooting last week.
"It was a challenging case, and the grand jury wanted to hear all the evidence," Foote said. "The grand jury members did not find that they were convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that there was evidence that a crime had been committed by these police officers. Their decision today deserves our respect and consideration."
Foote said at least five of the grand jurors, whose vote tally remains private, would have needed to vote "yes" to indict the two officers: Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin, 24, and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard, 46.
Kaady's family and friends condemned the grand jury's decision.
"It's a sad day for justice in Oregon when law-abiding citizens can be murdered in the streets when they are not a threat," said Albert Kaady, a cousin. "It's a mark of shame for Oregon."
A friend of Kaady's, Tereq Amhaz, 26, of Portland, said, "Everybody is really disappointed. It sure seems like police have a license to kill."
Fouad Kaady, who was suspected in at least three hit-and-run crashes in the hours before he died, was bloody, naked and combative, sheriff's officials said. He was unfazed by 50,000 volts from a stun gun and refused to respond to commands.
Both officers testified that Kaady jumped from the ground to the top of a police car in an instant as he screamed at the officers, "I'm gonna kill you!" They fired eight times, hitting Kaady with seven rounds. Kaady was unarmed.
"This is a case in which there are no winners," said Sandy Police Chief Harold Skelton. "A decision made in an instant can have results that will affect the individuals and the community for a lifetime."
Skelton said it was the first time a Sandy police officer has used lethal force.
Kaady's family said his bizarre behavior was not the result of drugs or mental illness, but of burns from a gasoline can that exploded into flames inside his car, and of a head injury suffered during one of the three car crashes.
One witness, Elaine Thornlimb of Boring, told the grand jury that Kaady had burned skin hanging from his arms. Paul White, who lived near the scene of the fatal shooting, said Kaady was grunting and howling as he walked along Southeast 362nd Avenue north of Sandy.
Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said his office will convene a shooting review board to examine the incident during the next 30 days. Skelton said the Sandy Police Department also will conduct an internal review of the shooting.
Roberts and Skelton offered their condolences to Kaady's family.
"We acknowledge the tragic loss to the Kaady family as we keep them in our thoughts and prayers," Skelton said in a statement.
Bergin was hired as a Sandy police officer in May, having previously worked as a Lincoln City police officer for about 1-1/2 years. Willard has been a Clackamas County deputy since 1994. He previously worked for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Willamina police and Portland Public Schools police.
Both men have been on paid administrative leave since the shooting and will remain on leave until their respective agencies complete reviews of the shooting.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Witnesses describe police shooting
from the Oregonian
Paul White was watering his wife's plants in his front yard when a naked, bloody man -- grunting, hooting, and "howling like a wolf," he said -- walked by his house. White, a 49-year-old recycler for Waste Connections, was taken aback. It was about 2 p.m. Sept. 8 -- a sunny day that would see the temperature hit 85 degrees. White, who lives in the 10400 block of Southeast 362nd Avenue, north of Sandy, said the man -- later identified as 27-year-old Fouad Kaady of Gresham -- was bleeding from a head wound and appeared "burnt." "The blood was running down his thighs," White said. "He was looking straight through me . . . like everybody else wasn't there." White told his story this week to a Clackamas County grand jury looking into Kaady's death at the hands of a Sandy police officer and a Clackamas County sheriff's deputy. He talked about the incident to the news media Wednesday. He said he didn't know what to think. Was the man on drugs or mentally ill? Kaady's family has theorized that he was crazed with pain from burns when a gasoline can in his car exploded, or that his bizarre behavior could be tied to a head injury. White also didn't know that Kaady's car had plowed into three cars and then burst into flames on nearby Bluff Road, or that Kaady had walked west through the woods before arriving at the road in front of White's house. White grabbed a board he had propped up near the corner of his house. "It scared the hell out of me," he said of the encounter. "I didn't know what I was up against." As White watched, Kaady continued walking north on 362nd. White noticed a woman driving a sport utility vehicle slowly follow as Kaady walked up the road. Kaady looked at White and then ran and jumped onto the roof of Elaine Thornlimb's Ford Explorer, hopping from the hood to the sunroof. Kaady, he said, jumped over the SUV "like it wasn't even there . . . like he had superstrength. His behavior was really off the wall. It was like he was imitating animals . . . flying like a bird." Thornlimb, a 46-year-old school librarian who lives nearby, said she followed Kaady for about a half-mile north on 362nd. At one point, he waved and smiled at her. She told the grand jury that Kaady's hair was matted and bloody and that skin was hanging from his arms. White walked into his neighbor's yard, keeping an eye on Kaady, who was heading north on 362nd toward Cottrell Elementary School where White's wife, Debra, worked. When Kaady was about one-tenth of a mile away -- across a dip in the road from where White stood -- a police car carrying Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard pulled up. Kaady by this time was sitting cross-legged in the road. After the officers shouted at him to get down, Kaady rolled onto his back, White said. The officers continued to shout at Kaady, telling him to lie on his stomach, but White thinks Kaady didn't comply because of the burns that ran down his right side. A few seconds later, White could see that the officers had fired a Taser at Kaady, who didn't appear to be affected by the 50,000-volt jolt. Kaady then jumped up onto the roof of the patrol car and stood there, hands at his side, White said. At no time, he said, was Kaady threatening or combative. He was unarmed. "That's when they shot him," White said. "I heard five shots." Kaady's body fell off the patrol car. "I don't think this will ever leave my mind," White said. Thornlimb told the grand jury that when Kaady sat down in the road, she told 9-1-1 dispatchers that he appeared to have given up. "I felt all along that the officers were there to help him," she said. "When they shot him, I drove home and sobbed for hours." Were the officers justified in shooting him, as police said, because they feared for their safety, and that Kaady was a threat to others? A grand jury is expected to come back with a decision today or Friday, said Greg Horner, Clackamas County assistant district attorney. Clackamas County officials routinely decline to comment on grand jury testimony.
Paul White was watering his wife's plants in his front yard when a naked, bloody man -- grunting, hooting, and "howling like a wolf," he said -- walked by his house. White, a 49-year-old recycler for Waste Connections, was taken aback. It was about 2 p.m. Sept. 8 -- a sunny day that would see the temperature hit 85 degrees. White, who lives in the 10400 block of Southeast 362nd Avenue, north of Sandy, said the man -- later identified as 27-year-old Fouad Kaady of Gresham -- was bleeding from a head wound and appeared "burnt." "The blood was running down his thighs," White said. "He was looking straight through me . . . like everybody else wasn't there." White told his story this week to a Clackamas County grand jury looking into Kaady's death at the hands of a Sandy police officer and a Clackamas County sheriff's deputy. He talked about the incident to the news media Wednesday. He said he didn't know what to think. Was the man on drugs or mentally ill? Kaady's family has theorized that he was crazed with pain from burns when a gasoline can in his car exploded, or that his bizarre behavior could be tied to a head injury. White also didn't know that Kaady's car had plowed into three cars and then burst into flames on nearby Bluff Road, or that Kaady had walked west through the woods before arriving at the road in front of White's house. White grabbed a board he had propped up near the corner of his house. "It scared the hell out of me," he said of the encounter. "I didn't know what I was up against." As White watched, Kaady continued walking north on 362nd. White noticed a woman driving a sport utility vehicle slowly follow as Kaady walked up the road. Kaady looked at White and then ran and jumped onto the roof of Elaine Thornlimb's Ford Explorer, hopping from the hood to the sunroof. Kaady, he said, jumped over the SUV "like it wasn't even there . . . like he had superstrength. His behavior was really off the wall. It was like he was imitating animals . . . flying like a bird." Thornlimb, a 46-year-old school librarian who lives nearby, said she followed Kaady for about a half-mile north on 362nd. At one point, he waved and smiled at her. She told the grand jury that Kaady's hair was matted and bloody and that skin was hanging from his arms. White walked into his neighbor's yard, keeping an eye on Kaady, who was heading north on 362nd toward Cottrell Elementary School where White's wife, Debra, worked. When Kaady was about one-tenth of a mile away -- across a dip in the road from where White stood -- a police car carrying Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard pulled up. Kaady by this time was sitting cross-legged in the road. After the officers shouted at him to get down, Kaady rolled onto his back, White said. The officers continued to shout at Kaady, telling him to lie on his stomach, but White thinks Kaady didn't comply because of the burns that ran down his right side. A few seconds later, White could see that the officers had fired a Taser at Kaady, who didn't appear to be affected by the 50,000-volt jolt. Kaady then jumped up onto the roof of the patrol car and stood there, hands at his side, White said. At no time, he said, was Kaady threatening or combative. He was unarmed. "That's when they shot him," White said. "I heard five shots." Kaady's body fell off the patrol car. "I don't think this will ever leave my mind," White said. Thornlimb told the grand jury that when Kaady sat down in the road, she told 9-1-1 dispatchers that he appeared to have given up. "I felt all along that the officers were there to help him," she said. "When they shot him, I drove home and sobbed for hours." Were the officers justified in shooting him, as police said, because they feared for their safety, and that Kaady was a threat to others? A grand jury is expected to come back with a decision today or Friday, said Greg Horner, Clackamas County assistant district attorney. Clackamas County officials routinely decline to comment on grand jury testimony.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Witnesses say police not justified in shooting naked man
from KGW.com
SANDY -- Two witnesses testified Tuesday before a Clackamas County grand jury deliberating whether police were justified in fatally shooting a naked, unarmed Gresham man last month.
Both witnesses indicated they agree with the man’s family that Fouad Kaady should not have been shot.
“I have no idea why they shot him. I honestly don’t. I thought they were there to help him," said witness Elaine Thornlimb.
She said she called 9-1-1 when she saw him bleeding, burned and naked, walking alongside the road north of Sandy. She said at first he smiled and waved, but as she followed him, he grew agitated.
“At one point he did turn around, yell something and jump on my car and jumped up and down on my sun roof and left blood on my car,” she said. Kaady wasn't armed, according to Thornlimb.
On the day of last month's shooting, the officers received a report of a hit-and-run car accident and arrived to find Kaady naked. As police tried to get him under control, he became combative, they said. The officers tried to taser him but were not able to get Kaady to calm down.
At one point Kaady got on top of the patrol vehicle, which is when at least one of the officers shot him.
Kaady died at the scene.
The second witness testified that Kaady had been behaving strangely, but when officers arrived, he calmed down until they used a taser on him.
“He was on the roof of the cop car and it wasn’t more than maybe about less than a minute…and they unloaded and fired off the shots on him," said witness Paul White.
White and Thornlimb said that while Kaady may have acted irrationally, he didn't deserve to be killed.
More witnesses were expected to testify on Wednesday and the grand jury could reach a decision by Thursday.
Officers shot and killed Kaady when he was wandering on SE 362nd Ave. in Sandy in early September.
“There must be an accountability of some sort to those that misused their position of authority to use it to take life when life should not have been taken,” Zania Kaady, Fouad Kaady's sister said Monday as protesters gathered outside the courthouse.
The sheriff's office identified the two officers who fired at Kaady as as 24-year-old William Bergin, a Sandy Police officer, and 44-year-old deputy David Willard of the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office.
SANDY -- Two witnesses testified Tuesday before a Clackamas County grand jury deliberating whether police were justified in fatally shooting a naked, unarmed Gresham man last month.
Both witnesses indicated they agree with the man’s family that Fouad Kaady should not have been shot.
“I have no idea why they shot him. I honestly don’t. I thought they were there to help him," said witness Elaine Thornlimb.
She said she called 9-1-1 when she saw him bleeding, burned and naked, walking alongside the road north of Sandy. She said at first he smiled and waved, but as she followed him, he grew agitated.
“At one point he did turn around, yell something and jump on my car and jumped up and down on my sun roof and left blood on my car,” she said. Kaady wasn't armed, according to Thornlimb.
On the day of last month's shooting, the officers received a report of a hit-and-run car accident and arrived to find Kaady naked. As police tried to get him under control, he became combative, they said. The officers tried to taser him but were not able to get Kaady to calm down.
At one point Kaady got on top of the patrol vehicle, which is when at least one of the officers shot him.
Kaady died at the scene.
The second witness testified that Kaady had been behaving strangely, but when officers arrived, he calmed down until they used a taser on him.
“He was on the roof of the cop car and it wasn’t more than maybe about less than a minute…and they unloaded and fired off the shots on him," said witness Paul White.
White and Thornlimb said that while Kaady may have acted irrationally, he didn't deserve to be killed.
More witnesses were expected to testify on Wednesday and the grand jury could reach a decision by Thursday.
Officers shot and killed Kaady when he was wandering on SE 362nd Ave. in Sandy in early September.
“There must be an accountability of some sort to those that misused their position of authority to use it to take life when life should not have been taken,” Zania Kaady, Fouad Kaady's sister said Monday as protesters gathered outside the courthouse.
The sheriff's office identified the two officers who fired at Kaady as as 24-year-old William Bergin, a Sandy Police officer, and 44-year-old deputy David Willard of the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office.
NEWS UPDATE: Grand jury examines shooting
from the Oregonian
Background: Fouad Kaady, 27, of Gresham was shot and killed during a confrontation with Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard after a bizarre series of events on a Clackamas County highway Sept. 8.
Update: A grand jury began hearing testimony Monday and will continue today and perhaps into Wednesday to decide whether the officers' actions were justified. Kaady's family said the 1996 Gresham High School graduate's behavior was the result of injuries received in a fire that engulfed the inside of his car and a subsequent crash. Police officials said Kaady began exhibiting bizarre behavior earlier in the day, was naked and combative during his confrontation with the two officers, and that he did not respond to commands or shocks from a stun gun.
What's next: Clackamas County Assistant District Attorney Greg Horner said the seven-member jury can reach one of two decisions: The officers could be indicted on criminal charges or the shooting was justified.
Background: Fouad Kaady, 27, of Gresham was shot and killed during a confrontation with Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard after a bizarre series of events on a Clackamas County highway Sept. 8.
Update: A grand jury began hearing testimony Monday and will continue today and perhaps into Wednesday to decide whether the officers' actions were justified. Kaady's family said the 1996 Gresham High School graduate's behavior was the result of injuries received in a fire that engulfed the inside of his car and a subsequent crash. Police officials said Kaady began exhibiting bizarre behavior earlier in the day, was naked and combative during his confrontation with the two officers, and that he did not respond to commands or shocks from a stun gun.
What's next: Clackamas County Assistant District Attorney Greg Horner said the seven-member jury can reach one of two decisions: The officers could be indicted on criminal charges or the shooting was justified.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Grand jury studies police shooting of naked Gresham man
from KGW.com
SANDY, Ore. - A Clackamas County grand jury will meet Monday to decide if police were justified in fatally shooting a Gresham man last month.
Officers shot and killed Fouad Kaady when he was wandering naked and rowdy on SE 362nd Ave. in Sandy.
The officers received a report of a hit-and-run car accident and arrived to find Kaady naked and with no shoes on. As police tried to get him under control, they said he became combative. The officers tried to taser him -- but were not able to get Kaady to calm down.
At one point Kaady got on top of the patrol vehicle, which is when at least one of the officers shot him.
Kaady died at the scene.
The sheriff's office identified the two officers who fired at Kaady as as 24-year-old William Bergin, a Sandy Police officer, and 44-year-old deputy David Willard of the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office.
SANDY, Ore. - A Clackamas County grand jury will meet Monday to decide if police were justified in fatally shooting a Gresham man last month.
Officers shot and killed Fouad Kaady when he was wandering naked and rowdy on SE 362nd Ave. in Sandy.
The officers received a report of a hit-and-run car accident and arrived to find Kaady naked and with no shoes on. As police tried to get him under control, they said he became combative. The officers tried to taser him -- but were not able to get Kaady to calm down.
At one point Kaady got on top of the patrol vehicle, which is when at least one of the officers shot him.
Kaady died at the scene.
The sheriff's office identified the two officers who fired at Kaady as as 24-year-old William Bergin, a Sandy Police officer, and 44-year-old deputy David Willard of the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Support is needed for Grand Jury Trials
author: Family - published in Portland IndyMedia
The grand jury trial for Fouad Kaady who was shot and murdered by the Sandy and Clackamas Police Departments a little over a month ago will be this Monday and Tuesday October 17th and 18th. The jury will convene at 10:45 a.m on Monday and at 8:30 a.m on Tuesday and will be meeting at the Clackamas County Courthouse located at 807 Main Street in Oregon City. We are need of as many individuals to come and show our power in numbers. We need to show the people responsible in attaining justice that we loved Fouad and we expect those that perpetuated this heinous crime to be held accountable. We have ten posters with Fouad's picture and a few words about what happened to him that need to be held by his friends, family, and citizens. The ruthless killing of our beloved bretheren needs to stop! Fouad could have easily been your son, brother, nephew, cousin, or much beloved friend. The time is at hand to make a change. Please come out and stand in unity with us.
The grand jury trial for Fouad Kaady who was shot and murdered by the Sandy and Clackamas Police Departments a little over a month ago will be this Monday and Tuesday October 17th and 18th. The jury will convene at 10:45 a.m on Monday and at 8:30 a.m on Tuesday and will be meeting at the Clackamas County Courthouse located at 807 Main Street in Oregon City. We are need of as many individuals to come and show our power in numbers. We need to show the people responsible in attaining justice that we loved Fouad and we expect those that perpetuated this heinous crime to be held accountable. We have ten posters with Fouad's picture and a few words about what happened to him that need to be held by his friends, family, and citizens. The ruthless killing of our beloved bretheren needs to stop! Fouad could have easily been your son, brother, nephew, cousin, or much beloved friend. The time is at hand to make a change. Please come out and stand in unity with us.
Rally for Fouad Kaady is Tomorrow Oct. 15
author: Vania Kaady - published in Portland IndyMedia
The rally for Fouad Kaady is at hand, and I am making another public call for support from our community. The rally will begin at 2p.m in front of the Subway located in downtown Sandy off of Proctor Blvd. We have flyers and large posters ready for all those that want to help inform the citizens there of what has transpired to our much beloved Fouad. It is very difficult for us (his immediate family) to go back to the city whose police officers murdered our precious son and brother, so we need all of our friends, family, and concerned citizens to be there. Standing united we are a much stronger power which is beyond the lethal force these lost souls used against the light that Fouad was and still is to us all. May he be glorified and remembered for who he really was. A grand soul with a grand purpose which was to love unconditionally and to feed all who crossed his path with a precious smile, sincere word, or to share his blessed bread. Thank you all. If you have any quesions please email me at vkaady@yahoo.com.
The rally for Fouad Kaady is at hand, and I am making another public call for support from our community. The rally will begin at 2p.m in front of the Subway located in downtown Sandy off of Proctor Blvd. We have flyers and large posters ready for all those that want to help inform the citizens there of what has transpired to our much beloved Fouad. It is very difficult for us (his immediate family) to go back to the city whose police officers murdered our precious son and brother, so we need all of our friends, family, and concerned citizens to be there. Standing united we are a much stronger power which is beyond the lethal force these lost souls used against the light that Fouad was and still is to us all. May he be glorified and remembered for who he really was. A grand soul with a grand purpose which was to love unconditionally and to feed all who crossed his path with a precious smile, sincere word, or to share his blessed bread. Thank you all. If you have any quesions please email me at vkaady@yahoo.com.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Candlelight Vigil for Fouad Kaady
author: Citizen - published in Portland IndyMedia
Fouad Kaady was killed by police unjustly 2 weeks ago. We need to support the communityu and demands anwsers from those that aree supposed to serve and protect!
His pickup truck ran out of gas around a mile from his parents home in Gresham. He got the truck to Ricks fencing. He forgot his phone at home so he could not call anyone for help. So he ran to his parents home , picked up his Mothers Buick,(his mother was out of town at the time,) grabbed a gas tank and filled it up. When he got to Ricks fencing his truck was towed. It was parked on private property. It was towed out to Sandy.. So Fouad headed out to Sandy in his Mother's buick with the gas tank in his car. Fouad a smoker, lit up a cigarette in the car.. From there unsure exactly what happened. We knew he was the gas tank caught fire in the car. Causing him to drive recklessly and hitting two cars. He ran out of his car indulged in flames and ripped his clothes off. He suffered serious head injuries from the wreck. He ran onto a guys property asking him for help, the guys saw him as a crazy naked man chased him with a bat. In defense of himself, Fouad kicked him. The man claimed he was trying to help. Shortly later two cops arrived at the scene, they sat him down and he kept standing up. They eventually tased him 10 times, with 50 volts of electricity. Being bloody and naked the cops did not want to touch him. He would fall but stood back up. Eventually jumping on a cop car the police officers shot him in the chest 5 times killing him. Fouad was a good man that did not believe in violence. He loved people and was harmless. A father of a Mexican kid was at the funeral,apparently his son was killed and his body was found in the the woods of Sandy. His son had complained for some time about the Sandy officer harassing him. When the father found out that Fouad was an Arab he wanted to learn more. The Sandy police department would not help with his murdered son.
We need justice, but if the police are found liable it would bankrupt Clackamas county and Sandy. They will do everything they can to cover it up. I ask of our community stand up and prevent this from happening again. The police initial report indicated that he was a psycho who was wanted for hit and runs. Fouad was a beautiful person who did not use drugs. The local medial initially attacked his character based on the info that was released by the police spokesman. Please, Please, HELP!
Fouad Kaady was killed by police unjustly 2 weeks ago. We need to support the communityu and demands anwsers from those that aree supposed to serve and protect!
His pickup truck ran out of gas around a mile from his parents home in Gresham. He got the truck to Ricks fencing. He forgot his phone at home so he could not call anyone for help. So he ran to his parents home , picked up his Mothers Buick,(his mother was out of town at the time,) grabbed a gas tank and filled it up. When he got to Ricks fencing his truck was towed. It was parked on private property. It was towed out to Sandy.. So Fouad headed out to Sandy in his Mother's buick with the gas tank in his car. Fouad a smoker, lit up a cigarette in the car.. From there unsure exactly what happened. We knew he was the gas tank caught fire in the car. Causing him to drive recklessly and hitting two cars. He ran out of his car indulged in flames and ripped his clothes off. He suffered serious head injuries from the wreck. He ran onto a guys property asking him for help, the guys saw him as a crazy naked man chased him with a bat. In defense of himself, Fouad kicked him. The man claimed he was trying to help. Shortly later two cops arrived at the scene, they sat him down and he kept standing up. They eventually tased him 10 times, with 50 volts of electricity. Being bloody and naked the cops did not want to touch him. He would fall but stood back up. Eventually jumping on a cop car the police officers shot him in the chest 5 times killing him. Fouad was a good man that did not believe in violence. He loved people and was harmless. A father of a Mexican kid was at the funeral,apparently his son was killed and his body was found in the the woods of Sandy. His son had complained for some time about the Sandy officer harassing him. When the father found out that Fouad was an Arab he wanted to learn more. The Sandy police department would not help with his murdered son.
We need justice, but if the police are found liable it would bankrupt Clackamas county and Sandy. They will do everything they can to cover it up. I ask of our community stand up and prevent this from happening again. The police initial report indicated that he was a psycho who was wanted for hit and runs. Fouad was a beautiful person who did not use drugs. The local medial initially attacked his character based on the info that was released by the police spokesman. Please, Please, HELP!
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Family disputes police account of shooting
from the Oregonian
GRESHAM -- The family of a 27-year-old Gresham man shot and killed by police last week in Sandy said his bizarre behavior was the result of injuries received in a fire that engulfed the inside of his car and a subsequent crash.
Fouad Kaady died Thursday afternoon of multiple gunshot wounds on a highway north of Sandy. The officers involved in the shooting were identified as Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard.
Both officers fired shortly after Kaady climbed on top of a patrol car, said Detective Jim Strovink, a spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. It's unclear which officer's bullet struck Kaady, he said.
Kaady, who was a suspected in at least three hit-and-run crashes, was bloody, naked and combative, Strovink said. One witness said Kaady had burns to his body and blood running down his torso from an apparent head wound.
A man who talked with Kaady shortly before police arrived said Kaady kicked him in the chest when he asked if he was all right. Another witness told police Kaady was sitting quietly in the middle of the road before police arrived.
Official explains actions
In an attempt to subdue him, Strovink said, the officers shot Kaady several times with a Taser -- a stun gun that delivers 50,000 volts of electricity through barbs fired into the skin -- with little effect.
"The officers felt threatened and perceived him to be a threat to others, as well," Strovink said, explaining why police used lethal force.
But Kaady's sister, Andrea Kaady, called his death "a travesty, a tragedy . . . it was an unlawful death."
She said her brother, a 1996 graduate of Gresham High School, had no history of mental illness and did not take hard drugs. "Why did they shoot him?" she asked. "Maybe if someone had tried to help him, this wouldn't have happened."
Kaady said her brother, a smoker, was driving with a gasoline can from the duplex owned by his parents in Sandy to his Toyota pickup, which ran out of gas earlier in the day in Gresham.
"He lit a cigarette and the gas caught fire," Andrea Kaady said. "He was trying to put himself out when he rear-ended another car. He was in shock."
Alice Lasher, spokeswoman for the Sandy Fire Department, said firefighters were first dispatched to Southeast Bluff Road on a hit-and-run accident with injuries. En route, firefighters were also dispatched to several brush fires, and at least two additional hit-and-run accidents.
"The brush fires were on the side of the road he traveled down and where a car went into the woods," Lasher said.
Witnesses told police Kaady was running naked through the woods and appeared to be painted red. Lasher confirmed Monday that Kaady suffered from burns, probably from the fire that engulfed the car he drove.
If Kaady hit his head in the crash, Lasher said, the injuries could have made him combative. "Head injuries can cause bizarre behavior," she said.
But Strovink said Kaady was exhibiting bizarre behavior before the shooting. He was reportedly seen driving erratically near Mt. Hood Community College.
He also was seen leaving his pickup in the parking lot of Rick's Custom Fencing, 20132 S.E. Stark St. in Gresham about 12:30 p.m. Thursday. James Blankenship, a worker there, said a man parked a truck in the store's parking lot, and after rummaging around inside, jumped from the cab.
"The door flew open and he jumped out and starting running across the field," Blankenship said. "All he had on were boxer shorts."
According to DMV records, Kaady's parents live a short distance away, on Southeast 207th Avenue.
It was about an hour later that the events preceding Kaady's death occurred.
Investigation continues
Strovink said that the case remains under investigation and that anyone with information can call the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office tips line at 503-723-4949. When the investigation is complete, the results go to a grand jury to determine if the shooting was justified.
Bergin, 24, was hired as a Sandy police officer in May, having previously worked as a Lincoln City police officer for about 11/2 years. Willard, 44, has been a Clackamas County deputy since 1994. He previously worked for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Willamina police and Portland Public Schools police. Both men are on paid administrative leave.
Albert Kaady, a cousin, said Fouad didn't do anything to deserve "this fate."
"If he was naked, how much of a threat is he to two or three or four police officers? He didn't deserve to die like this," he said.
A memorial service for Fouad Kaady will be at 11 a.m. today at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, 2101 N.E. 162nd Ave., Portland.
GRESHAM -- The family of a 27-year-old Gresham man shot and killed by police last week in Sandy said his bizarre behavior was the result of injuries received in a fire that engulfed the inside of his car and a subsequent crash.
Fouad Kaady died Thursday afternoon of multiple gunshot wounds on a highway north of Sandy. The officers involved in the shooting were identified as Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard.
Both officers fired shortly after Kaady climbed on top of a patrol car, said Detective Jim Strovink, a spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. It's unclear which officer's bullet struck Kaady, he said.
Kaady, who was a suspected in at least three hit-and-run crashes, was bloody, naked and combative, Strovink said. One witness said Kaady had burns to his body and blood running down his torso from an apparent head wound.
A man who talked with Kaady shortly before police arrived said Kaady kicked him in the chest when he asked if he was all right. Another witness told police Kaady was sitting quietly in the middle of the road before police arrived.
Official explains actions
In an attempt to subdue him, Strovink said, the officers shot Kaady several times with a Taser -- a stun gun that delivers 50,000 volts of electricity through barbs fired into the skin -- with little effect.
"The officers felt threatened and perceived him to be a threat to others, as well," Strovink said, explaining why police used lethal force.
But Kaady's sister, Andrea Kaady, called his death "a travesty, a tragedy . . . it was an unlawful death."
She said her brother, a 1996 graduate of Gresham High School, had no history of mental illness and did not take hard drugs. "Why did they shoot him?" she asked. "Maybe if someone had tried to help him, this wouldn't have happened."
Kaady said her brother, a smoker, was driving with a gasoline can from the duplex owned by his parents in Sandy to his Toyota pickup, which ran out of gas earlier in the day in Gresham.
"He lit a cigarette and the gas caught fire," Andrea Kaady said. "He was trying to put himself out when he rear-ended another car. He was in shock."
Alice Lasher, spokeswoman for the Sandy Fire Department, said firefighters were first dispatched to Southeast Bluff Road on a hit-and-run accident with injuries. En route, firefighters were also dispatched to several brush fires, and at least two additional hit-and-run accidents.
"The brush fires were on the side of the road he traveled down and where a car went into the woods," Lasher said.
Witnesses told police Kaady was running naked through the woods and appeared to be painted red. Lasher confirmed Monday that Kaady suffered from burns, probably from the fire that engulfed the car he drove.
If Kaady hit his head in the crash, Lasher said, the injuries could have made him combative. "Head injuries can cause bizarre behavior," she said.
But Strovink said Kaady was exhibiting bizarre behavior before the shooting. He was reportedly seen driving erratically near Mt. Hood Community College.
He also was seen leaving his pickup in the parking lot of Rick's Custom Fencing, 20132 S.E. Stark St. in Gresham about 12:30 p.m. Thursday. James Blankenship, a worker there, said a man parked a truck in the store's parking lot, and after rummaging around inside, jumped from the cab.
"The door flew open and he jumped out and starting running across the field," Blankenship said. "All he had on were boxer shorts."
According to DMV records, Kaady's parents live a short distance away, on Southeast 207th Avenue.
It was about an hour later that the events preceding Kaady's death occurred.
Investigation continues
Strovink said that the case remains under investigation and that anyone with information can call the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office tips line at 503-723-4949. When the investigation is complete, the results go to a grand jury to determine if the shooting was justified.
Bergin, 24, was hired as a Sandy police officer in May, having previously worked as a Lincoln City police officer for about 11/2 years. Willard, 44, has been a Clackamas County deputy since 1994. He previously worked for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Willamina police and Portland Public Schools police. Both men are on paid administrative leave.
Albert Kaady, a cousin, said Fouad didn't do anything to deserve "this fate."
"If he was naked, how much of a threat is he to two or three or four police officers? He didn't deserve to die like this," he said.
A memorial service for Fouad Kaady will be at 11 a.m. today at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, 2101 N.E. 162nd Ave., Portland.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Obituary for Fouad Raymond Kaady
Fouad Raymond Kaady
A funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2005, in St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Portland for Fouad Raymond Kaady, who died of gunshot wounds at age 27. A trisagion service will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12, in Holman's Funeral Service.
Mr. Kaady was born Jan. 8, 1978, in Portland. He graduated from Gresham High School and was a real estate broker.
Survivors include his father, Rachid; mother, Samira; and sisters, Vania and Andrea.
Remembrances to the church
A funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2005, in St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Portland for Fouad Raymond Kaady, who died of gunshot wounds at age 27. A trisagion service will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12, in Holman's Funeral Service.
Mr. Kaady was born Jan. 8, 1978, in Portland. He graduated from Gresham High School and was a real estate broker.
Survivors include his father, Rachid; mother, Samira; and sisters, Vania and Andrea.
Remembrances to the church
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Two officers in deadly shooting are identified
from the Oregonian
Law enforcement officers involved in a shooting that killed a 27-year-old Gresham man in Clackamas County were identified Saturday as Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard.
The shooting occurred Thursday on Southeast 362nd Avenue after Fouad Kaady climbed on top of a patrol car. Kaady, suspected in a series of at least three hit-and-run crashes, was bloody, naked and combative, according to the sheriff's office.
Kaady was shot by Bergin or Willard or both, according to Detective Jim Strovink, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. Strovink said additional information, such as the number of gunshot wounds, won't be available until he receives a formal report from an autopsy Friday.
Bergin, 24, was hired as a Sandy police officer in May, having previously worked as a Lincoln City police officer for about 11/2 years. Willard, 44, has been a Clackamas County deputy since 1994. He previously worked for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Willamina police and Portland Public Schools police.
Both men are on paid administrative leave, which is customary after a fatal shooting.
Law enforcement officers involved in a shooting that killed a 27-year-old Gresham man in Clackamas County were identified Saturday as Sandy police Officer William J. Bergin and Clackamas County sheriff's Deputy David E. Willard.
The shooting occurred Thursday on Southeast 362nd Avenue after Fouad Kaady climbed on top of a patrol car. Kaady, suspected in a series of at least three hit-and-run crashes, was bloody, naked and combative, according to the sheriff's office.
Kaady was shot by Bergin or Willard or both, according to Detective Jim Strovink, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. Strovink said additional information, such as the number of gunshot wounds, won't be available until he receives a formal report from an autopsy Friday.
Bergin, 24, was hired as a Sandy police officer in May, having previously worked as a Lincoln City police officer for about 11/2 years. Willard, 44, has been a Clackamas County deputy since 1994. He previously worked for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Willamina police and Portland Public Schools police.
Both men are on paid administrative leave, which is customary after a fatal shooting.
Friday, September 9, 2005
Clackamas County Identifies Deceased Male Subject
Press Release from: Clackamas County Sheriff's Office
2223 S. Kaen Rd.
Oregon City, OR 97045
Clackamas County Identifies Deceased Male Subject
September 9th, 2005 3:37 PM
The Clackamas County Sheriffs Office has been informed that a positive identification has been completed concerning the naked and combative male subject, who was subsequently shot and killed by police on SE 362, in Sandy.
This shooting victim is identified as: FOUAD KAADY, WMA,
01-08-78. Fouad Kaady resided in the Gresham area. No criminal history to report, or mugg photo available to publish.
Fouad Kaady is the male subject who is reported to have been involved with a series of hit and run vehicular accidents on Bluff Road, which triggered rescue personnel responding from the City of Sandy and the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office to the area.
While this response was being conducted by rescue personnel, additional reports of a citizen assault was received, in conjunction to the hit and run suspect vehicle being engulfed in flames on Bluff Road.
Reportedly, a Good Samaritan working as a surveyor in the area indicates the subject he attempted to help, who was standing naked in the woods near the flaming vehicle, and kicked him in the chest as he attempted to render aid.
Additional information has been investigated where a female witness/victim reports this naked subject had advanced from Bluff Road and was running along SE 362. This female driver reports this subject had jumped, naked onto her moving vehicle and was pounding on the sunroof of this vehicle prior to his encounter with police. This encounter did not create any addition accidents or injuries to this female driver.
A short time later Fouad Kaady engaged the Clackamas County Sheriffs Deputy and the Sandy Police Officer who had arrived in the area of SE 362. It was during this engagement Fouad Kaady was subsequently discovered to be combative and totally unresponsive to the audible law enforcement commands to comply, or the Tasering deployed by both officers on the scene.
Reportedly, Fouad Kaady was out of control and on top of the patrol vehicle for a period of time.
Fouad Kaady was shot by at least one [emphasis on at least one] of the two law enforcement officers on the scene representing the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office and the Sandy Police Department.
It is expected the officers involved will continue to be on paid Administrative leave, which is customary in these types of situations.
The involved officers names will be released in the next 24 hours.
The Oregon State Medical Examiners Office has conducted the autopsy of Fouad Kaady earlier today. The results of this autopsy examination will be released at the appropriate time when completed. Please recognize the toxicology examinations alone require at least two to three weeks to complete.
The Clackamas County Sheriffs Office is requesting if any member of the public has information related to this on going investigation to please come forward and contact the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office at 503-723-4949.
Contact Info: Detective Jim Strovink, Acting Public Information Officer Clackams County Sheriffs Office 503-237-2643
2223 S. Kaen Rd.
Oregon City, OR 97045
Clackamas County Identifies Deceased Male Subject
September 9th, 2005 3:37 PM
The Clackamas County Sheriffs Office has been informed that a positive identification has been completed concerning the naked and combative male subject, who was subsequently shot and killed by police on SE 362, in Sandy.
This shooting victim is identified as: FOUAD KAADY, WMA,
01-08-78. Fouad Kaady resided in the Gresham area. No criminal history to report, or mugg photo available to publish.
Fouad Kaady is the male subject who is reported to have been involved with a series of hit and run vehicular accidents on Bluff Road, which triggered rescue personnel responding from the City of Sandy and the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office to the area.
While this response was being conducted by rescue personnel, additional reports of a citizen assault was received, in conjunction to the hit and run suspect vehicle being engulfed in flames on Bluff Road.
Reportedly, a Good Samaritan working as a surveyor in the area indicates the subject he attempted to help, who was standing naked in the woods near the flaming vehicle, and kicked him in the chest as he attempted to render aid.
Additional information has been investigated where a female witness/victim reports this naked subject had advanced from Bluff Road and was running along SE 362. This female driver reports this subject had jumped, naked onto her moving vehicle and was pounding on the sunroof of this vehicle prior to his encounter with police. This encounter did not create any addition accidents or injuries to this female driver.
A short time later Fouad Kaady engaged the Clackamas County Sheriffs Deputy and the Sandy Police Officer who had arrived in the area of SE 362. It was during this engagement Fouad Kaady was subsequently discovered to be combative and totally unresponsive to the audible law enforcement commands to comply, or the Tasering deployed by both officers on the scene.
Reportedly, Fouad Kaady was out of control and on top of the patrol vehicle for a period of time.
Fouad Kaady was shot by at least one [emphasis on at least one] of the two law enforcement officers on the scene representing the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office and the Sandy Police Department.
It is expected the officers involved will continue to be on paid Administrative leave, which is customary in these types of situations.
The involved officers names will be released in the next 24 hours.
The Oregon State Medical Examiners Office has conducted the autopsy of Fouad Kaady earlier today. The results of this autopsy examination will be released at the appropriate time when completed. Please recognize the toxicology examinations alone require at least two to three weeks to complete.
The Clackamas County Sheriffs Office is requesting if any member of the public has information related to this on going investigation to please come forward and contact the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office at 503-723-4949.
Contact Info: Detective Jim Strovink, Acting Public Information Officer Clackams County Sheriffs Office 503-237-2643
Thursday, September 8, 2005
Clackamas County Sheriff's Office / Sandy Incident Update
Clackamas County Sheriff's Office / Sandy Incident Update
September 8th, 2005 9:10 PM
Recapping the officer involved shooting that occurred earlier on SE 362nd, in Sandy:
A reported hit and run accident was reported on Bluff Road and involved a female victim who reported she was struck from the rear in her vehicle while driving on Bluff Road at approximately 1:30 PM.
This female victim of the hit and run was transported with non-life threatening injuries and later released from medical attention.
This reported suspect vehicle was then reported to have struck at least one additional vehicle at about this same point in time, in the same area. Investigators are attempting to determine if this suspect vehicle struck additional vehicles during this same time period.
Responding rescue was then alerted to a brush fire a short distance from the initial hit and run location. It was discovered this fire was the suspect vehicle, totally involved with fire, on the south side of the roadway on Bluff Road.
In addition, a male witness reports the suspect of this hit and run suspect vehicle physically assaulted this witness near the scene of this fire. This witness described this suspect as combative and may have been armed with a handgun in the woods.
While all of this activity was being addressed: A responding Sandy Police Officer and a Clackamas County Sheriffs Deputy responded to a report of a man running naked on SE 362; a short distance from the reported hit and run location on Bluff Road, the vehicle fire and assault location.
Both the Deputy and Sandy Officer confronted this naked, male subject on SE 362 in the middle of the roadway. This subject did not respond to the law enforcement commands and was out of control. Subsequently, both the Deputy and Sandy Officer utilized a non-lethal force, in the form of a Taser gun to gain control of this subject. This deployment of the Taser did not enable these law enforcement personnel to gain control of this subject. At one point, it is reported the suspect had maneuvered himself onto the top of the patrol vehicle at the scene. It was ultimately deemed necessary, by at least one of these officers [emphasis on at least one], to transition to lethal force and shoot the subject to reduce the threat imposed. This suspect died at the scene and this investigation is continuing.
Obviously, the scope of this investigation is very involved and covers a wide area the suspect had negotiated from beginning to end, over a 30 minute time period from beginning to end.
It is expected to take considerable time to contact and interview all the known witnesses at this time, and to adequately conduct a search of the area on foot. Which includes investigators canvassing the area for additional potential witnesses.
The Sheriffs Office is encouraging anyone with information related to this series of events to please contact the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office to report this critical information.
The deceased suspect has been fingerprinted, and additional efforts to identify this individual will continue appropriately.
Please recognize the enormous scope of this ongoing investigation, which is expected to continue into the coming weekend.
As is customary in these types of investigations, the law enforcement personnel involved will be provided with Administrative leave opportunities to enable them to decompress from this traumatic experience. The names of these personnel involved will be released at an appropriate point in time.
The community where this occurred can be assured the situation is under control and no addition threat to the citizens exists from this unfortunate incident.
An investigators debriefing is expected at around noon on Friday. Detective Strovink will provide any additional information which may come available as a result of this debriefing session.
Any additional information related to this investigation will be provided to the media in a timely fashion as received by this office. [end]
Contact Info: Jim Strovink, Acting Public Information Officer Pager:503-237-2643
September 8th, 2005 9:10 PM
Recapping the officer involved shooting that occurred earlier on SE 362nd, in Sandy:
A reported hit and run accident was reported on Bluff Road and involved a female victim who reported she was struck from the rear in her vehicle while driving on Bluff Road at approximately 1:30 PM.
This female victim of the hit and run was transported with non-life threatening injuries and later released from medical attention.
This reported suspect vehicle was then reported to have struck at least one additional vehicle at about this same point in time, in the same area. Investigators are attempting to determine if this suspect vehicle struck additional vehicles during this same time period.
Responding rescue was then alerted to a brush fire a short distance from the initial hit and run location. It was discovered this fire was the suspect vehicle, totally involved with fire, on the south side of the roadway on Bluff Road.
In addition, a male witness reports the suspect of this hit and run suspect vehicle physically assaulted this witness near the scene of this fire. This witness described this suspect as combative and may have been armed with a handgun in the woods.
While all of this activity was being addressed: A responding Sandy Police Officer and a Clackamas County Sheriffs Deputy responded to a report of a man running naked on SE 362; a short distance from the reported hit and run location on Bluff Road, the vehicle fire and assault location.
Both the Deputy and Sandy Officer confronted this naked, male subject on SE 362 in the middle of the roadway. This subject did not respond to the law enforcement commands and was out of control. Subsequently, both the Deputy and Sandy Officer utilized a non-lethal force, in the form of a Taser gun to gain control of this subject. This deployment of the Taser did not enable these law enforcement personnel to gain control of this subject. At one point, it is reported the suspect had maneuvered himself onto the top of the patrol vehicle at the scene. It was ultimately deemed necessary, by at least one of these officers [emphasis on at least one], to transition to lethal force and shoot the subject to reduce the threat imposed. This suspect died at the scene and this investigation is continuing.
Obviously, the scope of this investigation is very involved and covers a wide area the suspect had negotiated from beginning to end, over a 30 minute time period from beginning to end.
It is expected to take considerable time to contact and interview all the known witnesses at this time, and to adequately conduct a search of the area on foot. Which includes investigators canvassing the area for additional potential witnesses.
The Sheriffs Office is encouraging anyone with information related to this series of events to please contact the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office to report this critical information.
The deceased suspect has been fingerprinted, and additional efforts to identify this individual will continue appropriately.
Please recognize the enormous scope of this ongoing investigation, which is expected to continue into the coming weekend.
As is customary in these types of investigations, the law enforcement personnel involved will be provided with Administrative leave opportunities to enable them to decompress from this traumatic experience. The names of these personnel involved will be released at an appropriate point in time.
The community where this occurred can be assured the situation is under control and no addition threat to the citizens exists from this unfortunate incident.
An investigators debriefing is expected at around noon on Friday. Detective Strovink will provide any additional information which may come available as a result of this debriefing session.
Any additional information related to this investigation will be provided to the media in a timely fashion as received by this office. [end]
Contact Info: Jim Strovink, Acting Public Information Officer Pager:503-237-2643
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