Sandy officer's DUII arrest surfaces

From the Sandy Post

A Sandy police officer was arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicants while off-duty in Sherwood, recent court proceedings revealed.

Sherwood officers took William J. Bergin, 26, into custody early on March 8, 2007, after he showed up to his ex-girlfriend’s house drunk. According to police reports, he then repeatedly lied to officers, refused a breath test and threatened to hurt himself.

The information surfaced several weeks ago, during depositions for the federal lawsuit contesting the fatal police shooting of Fouad Kaady in 2005 – of which Bergin was a part. Kaady family attorney Michelle Burrows’ law office said the information wasn’t entirely important to their case, however, it was used as a test to see if Bergin would lie about what happened.

He didn’t.

At about 3:21 a.m. March 8, 2007, Amy Lynn Seely called Sherwood Police in tears, telling them that her ex-boyfriend, Bergin, had showed up at her house, unwanted, according to police reports. Bergin was off duty at the time, on personal leave.

Seely told authorities that Bergin probably was there to collect some of his items, since he was in the process of moving out of the Bedstraw Terrace home, but she didn’t feel comfortable with him there at such a late hour. She said he had been having emotional problems since the 2005 shooting.

When police arrived at the house, they found Bergin on his knees in the garage, trying to get inside the house by picking the door lock with a screwdriver.

“It was apparent to me that Mr. Bergin was likely intoxicated,” wrote Officer Randy Johnson. “(His) eyes were watery and bloodshot and his movements were slow and lethargic.”

For at least the next hour, Bergin had trouble keeping his balance, and officers caught him several times as he stumbled.

Bergin told the Sherwood officers that he was at the house to get some of his personal belongings and tools.

When Officer Jason Newton asked Bergin how much he had to drink, Bergin replied, “I don’t know, I had a few drinks downtown,” later specifying that he had four drinks at Rock Bottom and Kell’s Pub.

He admitted that after having four drinks in downtown Portland, he drove 18 miles to Sherwood. Then he said he drank two or three more beers in the garage.

He changed his story a couple times, the report stated.

“I asked him why he lied to me,” Officer Jason Newton wrote. “He told me that he was a cop and knew the routine.”

Bergin refused to perform voluntary field sobriety tests, saying, “No, I am a cop; I am not doing (a) test.” He said that as someone who nabs about three DUII drivers a week in Sandy, he knew the drill.

Bergin’s behavior stuck out to Newton.

“As we were talking, Mr. Bergin seemed to be having severe mood swings,” he wrote. “He would be talking with me one minute and then the next minute he would be crying and mumbling to the point where I had to keep asking him to calm down …”

According to the report, Bergin started crying, mentioning that he had shot Kaady.

“I informed him that I could (imagine) that he is having a hard time, but I had to do my job,” Newton wrote.

About an hour and a half after police were dispatched, Bergin agreed to take a breath test, and registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.12 percent, above the legal limit of 0.08.

At the Sherwood Police Department, Bergin asked to call his attorney alone in his holding cell. When given the chance, however, he decided to call Seely instead.

Officer Johnson, still at Seely’s house, was about to clear the scene, when Seely ran up to him.

“She was crying and told me she just got three or four calls coming from Bill,” Johnson said.

After Seely told Bergin their relationship was over, Bergin hung up the phone. He then called two more times, leaving chilling voicemail messages.

On one, Bergin said, “I hope you are happy because I’m dead!” On another he said, “Apparently you don’t care, I love you anyways. I’m done; I lost my job, my career, this is the last straw!”

He ended the message by saying, “I will get access to a gun and as soon as I am released I’m going to put a bullet in my head.”

Bergin later revealed that he was taking the antidepressants Trazodone and Celexa, as well as Wellbutrin.

(Recent studies have revealed that those antidepressants increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior.)

As Newton completed Bergin’s paperwork, Bergin asked him if he could just go to Detox. He then told Newton that he “has pulled over plenty of drunken cops, and has given them a ride home,” the report stated.

“He told me that in Sandy it is still the ‘good old boy’ system, and he could just go to Detox or home,” Newton wrote. “I informed him that I had a job to do and that it was nothing personal.”

Sandy Police Chief Harold Skelton denied that claim, stating, “Drunk people will say anything.”

Bruce Mowry, an attorney representing the city, wondered if Bergin was responsible for what he said when he was drunk, and said that it’s important to consider the context of the statements.

Bergin was lodged at the Washington County Jail, and his bail was set at $3,710 – the standard for misdemeanor crimes. He also paid $408 in court fees.

The officer opted to enter a one-year diversion program. Diversion, a program designed for first-time offenders, allows lawbreakers to enter into counseling and/or community service work. At the end of diversion, the case is dismissed.

Bergin’s diversion ends April 9.

Reaction

Chief Skelton found himself in uncharted territory when he was notified of the incident in the middle of the night. Flabbergasted at what he said was one of the department’s worst personnel crises, he consulted others to come up with an appropriate response to Bergin’s actions.

“I checked with other chiefs who have had similar incidents, as well as legal counsel and labor attorneys, and they suggested things to help,” Skelton said. That advice led him to levy a punishment he said was “probably the most harsh any of us have faced in the 30-plus years I’ve been here.”

City officials wouldn’t specify what the punishment entailed, calling it a private personnel matter.

“It was an off-duty incident, but the city responded appropriately,” said Bruce Mowery, an attorney representing the police department in several lawsuits. “It was not ignored; if anyone thinks the city ignored it, they’re sadly mistaken.”

Sandy Mayor Linda Malone would not comment on the incident, due to its connection to the ongoing Kaady case.

Eriks Gabliks, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, said that when it comes to disciplinary action for officers arrested for DUII, there is no norm.

“It’s very much handled on an agency-by-agency basis,” Gabliks said. Punishments range from immediate dismissal to reassignment, and everything in between. It all depends on what occurred during the incident and each department’s policies and procedures.

“We understand that officers make mistakes, make poor decisions in their life,” Gabliks said. “And DUII, unfortunately, is one of those for some people.”

He said an officer’s certification is not typically at risk for a first-time DUII offender.

“You’ll never hear us say we stand behind officers that drink and drive,” Gabliks said. “We don’t stand behind inappropriate decisions.”

Burrows, the Kaady attorney, says Bergin’s punishment didn’t go far enough.

“He should be fired,” Burrows said. “If not for the shooting, for the DUII.

“My guess is that after I talked to him, this (the shooting) has completely traumatized him,” Burrows continued. “He told me he has a hard time pulling people over. I don’t think he can function anymore; he shouldn’t be a police officer.”

The city disagrees. They say Bergin has got his life back together, and is a productive, upbeat, rehabilitated member of the department.

“He went to court, and took responsibility for what he did,” he said, noting that Bergin also wrote a letter of apology to the entire department. “He did everything and beyond what the courts asked him to do. Before he came back, he was thoroughly examined, and was 100 percent fit for duty.”

Bergin has reportedly given up alcohol, not touching a drop since his arrest. He recently was given the task of being the field-training officer for new police recruit Lewis Sytsma.

“If I didn’t think he was stable, I would not have given him that responsibility,” Skelton said. Although dealing with a disorder that has left many officers “surly,” Skelton said, Bergin has shown himself to be positive and competent.

City officials believe that the use of this incident in the Kaady case is an attempt to discredit the entire Sandy Police Department.

“Why would someone want to resurrect an off-duty incident that happened about a year ago?” Mowery asked. “It must be a psychological ploy, hoping to somehow upset and destroy Bill Bergin … and take advantage of it somehow.”

Skelton says that while the department takes the incident very seriously, he also understands the level of stress Bergin has dealt with since the September 2005 shooting.

“It’s been real hard for him,” the chief said. “I know a lot of people who have been involved in shootings, and everyone says it changed them.”

Some of those officers, he said, went on and finished their careers, but others – about 80 percent – ended their career in law enforcement within five years of a shooting.

“Bill Bergin is a victim of a tragic scenario that he had limited participation in, with quickly unfolding events, and not a lot of time for reflection,” Mowery said. “Some people may have handled it better than he did, but he got help, and it’s worked well. He’s got his life back together.”

“You know, he’s been going through some hard times,” Mayor Malone said of Bergin. “The chief is responsible for determining whether an officer is fit for duty. He has made that call, and at some point we’ll decide whether that call was the right call.”

Parade of lawsuits targets Sandy Police Department

City claims no wrongdoing on part of officers

published in the The Sandy Post, Mar 28, 2007, Updated Mar 30, 2007
Top row, the plaintiffs: Jerry E. Woodford, Juan Rubio, Britt Woodring, Samuel Contreras. Bottom row, the defendants: Chief Harold Skelton, officers Ernie Roberts, Bill Bergin and Kalen "K.T." Taylor.

The Sandy Police Department and its officers are facing six lawsuits — including five filed in federal court — that accuse officers of excessive force, harassment and violating constitutional rights.

On Monday, March 12, Sandy resident Samuel Contreras joined Firwood’s Juan Rubio, the family of Fouad Kaady, Jerry Woodford and Estacada’s Britt Woodring in filing a lawsuit in federal court claiming wrongdoing by the department. Rubio also has filed a lawsuit in Clackamas County Circuit Court.

Police Chief Harold Skelton said that before the Woodford lawsuit — the first of the six filed — the department hadn’t been sued for about 20 years.

Officer K.T. Taylor is a defendant in the two Rubio cases, the Woodring case and the Woodford case; Officer Bill Bergin is a defendant in the Kaady and Woodring cases; and Officer Ernie Roberts is identified in the Contreras suit. Clackamas County sheriff’s deputies Brandon Claggett and Dave Willard are being sued in the Woodford and Kaady cases, respectively.

Attorney Edward Merrill of Bend, who represents Rubio, Woodring and Contreras, said his clients filed the lawsuits — which concern four different incidents with the Sandy Police Department — not for monetary gain but to protest the actions of the department and to advocate for change.

“All we can do is try to right the wrongs that we’re alleging, and hopefully a by-product of that is that other (incidents) will be prevented,” Merrill said. “At some point in time you can hope somebody is going to take notice and ask if there’s a deeper, underlying problem here, and what can be done to remedy it.”

Added Rubio, “It just goes on, the same old clique. I think the citizens of Sandy should be educated on how the city government is dealing with its problems.”

Salem attorney Bruce Mowery, who represents the city interests through City/County Insurance, says the sextuple-whammy of lawsuits — he’s not involved in the Kaady case — is “probably something orchestrated by the attorney, since he’s the same one (for all of them, save Kaady and Woodford).”

“A lot of it is just contrived,” Skelton echoed. He said Rubio’s attorneys are “shopping for plaintiffs,” checking the county jail roster for Sandy arrests.

Mowery said in each case there’s evidence that any action taken by city officials was “justifiable,” although he said he couldn’t discuss any evidence supporting that statement.

“There’s absolutely no merit to the claims,” he said.

The city also maintains that the officers can’t be sued for any actual or alleged actions under the doctrine of qualified immunity — a legal doctrine established by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1982 (Harlow v. Fitzgerald) that insulates officers “insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known,” which Sandy says is the case.

Any time the department receives a use-of-force complaint, Skelton said, it reviews the scenario. “Under the circumstances in these cases, I believe (the use of force) was justified. I believe in all these lawsuits we’ll be exonerated.”

He added, “I have total confidence in my officers. We’re always watching, always paying attention to make sure we’re doing things legally.”

Mowery wouldn’t say whether the city wants to settle with the Rubio camp or how he plans to defend the city in court.

“This doesn’t appear to be an unusual pattern,” City Manager Scott Lazenby said. “The idea is that if you throw a bunch of stuff in the hopper you might have some leverage to get your way. There’s no substance as far as we can tell to any of them.”

Lazenby said he was familiar with the episodes related to the lawsuits and has no concerns regarding the behavior of city police officers.

“I know what has gone on in these very incidents,” he said. “Often they involve a situation where there were a number of law enforcement officers, and reports from them make us pretty confident that there’s nothing of substance to these things.”

Lazenby isn’t worried about a trial. “Frankly,” he said, “I don’t think it would go that far.” That belief leads the city’s charge to get the lawsuits thrown out in court. Mowery is working on it, he said.

Mowery wouldn’t comment as to whether the city is looking for a settlement, and Merrill said the only appropriate out-of-court resolution — which would punish and/or terminate officers and institute new training — doesn’t appear likely.

Skelton, fresh from giving a deposition for Rubio’s trials last week, said the individual officers can turn around and sue Merrill’s law firm for harassment and frivolous litigation. He didn’t say whether the officers plan to do that, but said they will have that ability.

Rubio remains confident. “Do you how much they’re going to lose?” he asked. “They don’t want to cut their own throat. The blade is already up against their throat; they’re just hesitating on when to do it.

“I am going to break this town.”

Lawsuit no. 1: Woodford's federal case

Jerry Eureal Woodford, 48, of Sandy filed a federal case against the city of Sandy last June, 2006, alleging that the police brutalized him while he was staying at a hotel in town.

Woodford, who is disabled, said that he wasn’t able to move in bed on June 11, 2004, because he slept about 16 hours and wasn’t able to take his daily dose of necessary medication.

So when people knocked on his door asking him to come out, he yelled that he was disabled and couldn’t get to the door. At that point, he said he took his medication.

About an hour later, after his medication took effect, Woodford grabbed his crutches and before he could open the door, Taylor and Claggett broke through the door, shooting a Taser, which missed.

When asked to show his hands, Woodford complied. Taylor then tackled him, making him hit the edge of the bed and fall to the ground, where he was Tased three times — which made him involuntarily defecate.

Woodford then alleges that Deputy Claggett put his hand on his back and grabbed his hair before he was handcuffed and taken to the Clackamas County Jail, where he remained for three days.

He was charged with resisting arrest — a charge that was later dropped.

Woodford alleges that Taylor and Claggett violated his fourth and fourteenth amendment rights to be free of unreasonable search and seizures and unreasonable force from the government, since the “use of unnecessary force was unreasonable, excessive and disproportionate based on the circumstances.”

A response filed on behalf of the officers maintains that Woodford “refused to open the door and locked it form the inside.” They also said Woodford didn’t answer the hotel room phone when they tried to call it, and eventually, officers had to break down the door.

The officers “had probable cause” to arrest Woodford, the response continues, and that the officers used “no more force than was necessary” to accomplish that.

Once in the hotel room, police say Woodford was found standing, and that he refused to comply with all fof the officers’ commands and physically resisted arrest. The Taser was deployed to “gain control” of the suspect.

Woodford asks for unspecified non-economic damages resulting from the alleged injuries levied by the officers, as well as unspecified punitive damages and attorney’s fees. The officers are seeking reimbursement of legal fees.

Lawsuit no. 2: Kaady federal case

The family of Fouad Kaady filed a lawsuit against the city of Sandy and Clackamas County last September in federal court.

Kaady was shot and killed by Sandy police officer Bill Bergin and Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputy Dave Willard Sept. 8, 2005, after a string of seemingly bizarre events including several hit-and-run collisions, a car fire and a possible assault. He was naked, bleeding and severely burned before the fatal police encounter near Cottrell Grade School, northwest of Sandy.

The 31-page lawsuit claims that the county, the city and the officers violated Kaady’s civil rights. The 10-claim complaint alleges excessive force, unconstitutional arrest and wrongful death, among other accusations. Furthermore, it claims that the police-involved shooting was “oppressive, malicious … (and) motivated by evil motive or intent.”

Kaady family members seek monetary damages in an amount to be determined at trial. That amount would include memorial service expenses, the loss of Kaady’s lifetime wages, compensation for pain and suffering, attorneys’ fees and punitive judgments against the officers.

“We’re hoping for a fair and just exploration of what happened, and maybe some result that will be a living testament to Fouad Kaady’s life,” said Michelle Burrows one of the Kaady family’s attorneys.

A Clackamas County Grand Jury cleared Bergin and Willard of all wrongdoing last year and an internal investigation by the sheriff’s office and the Sandy Police Department determined that they had fully complied with department policies and procedures. Both officers returned to duty, although Bergin is currently on personal leave.

Sheriff Craig Roberts and Sandy Police Chief Harold Skelton defended the actions of the officers, saying that in unstable situations such as the Kaady case, sometimes split-second decisions must be made to protect law enforcement officers.

The family has hired Wyoming attorney Gerry Spence, who is known for handling high-profile cases such as the landmark 1984 Karen Silkwood case. He represented Brandon Mayfield — the Portland-area man whose fingerprints were erroneously linked to the 2004 Madrid train bombings.

A trial isn’t expected for six months to a year.

Lawsuit no. 3: Rubio's federal case

The Rubio case stems from an incident during the 2005 Sandy Mountain Festival, in which Rubio had approached Chief Harold Skelton — who was riding in the parade as one of its grand marshals — and began yelling at the city’s top cop about the disappearance of his son, and compared the local police to Nazis.

At the time, Rubio’s son, 20-year-old Carlos, was had been missing for a month. The distraught father, upset by his son’s recent encounters with Sandy Police, asserted that local law enforcement had something to do with his son’s disappearance.

“His screaming in the public venue was creating public alarm,” Skelton noted in a previous interview. “In the right circumstances, that kind of thing could have started a riot.”

Rubio said he never threatened the chief, and yelled because Skelton was ignoring him. Had he received any acknowledgement from the chief, Rubio said he would have accepted it and backed off.

Skelton said he called for backup after Rubio approached him three different times, reporting that he and his wife felt threatened. Police then arrested Rubio on charges of menacing (threatening harm) and disorderly conduct/criminal mischief.

When the case finally went to court on Jan. 25, 2006, Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Steven Maurer threw it out, noting that the facts proved the trial was illegitimate, because Rubio’s encounter with Skelton was just an “upsetting” and “unfair” exercise of his free speech rights. He said the arrest should have never taken place.

“One of attributes of free speech is that it well may be disturbing,” said Maurer in his closing remarks, “you take the good with the bad.”

Although a trial hasn’t been scheduled for the federal case, it is widely expected the trial would begin sometime in 2008 if an out-of-court settlement isn’t reached.

Lawsuit no. 4: Rubio's local case

Rubio also filed a lawsuit against Officer Kalen “K.T.” Taylor in circuit court last summer, accusing Taylor of threatening Rubio during several incidents between 2004 and 2006. He seeks $100,000 for emotional distress.

Taylor declined to comment on the specific allegations made in the pending lawsuit, but speaking generally, he said in a previous interview, “There’s some stuff he’s saying that concerns me. There’s a lot of mistruths.”

Rubio’s first cited encounter was on June 25, 2004, when he responded to a supermarket parking lot where his son, 19-year-old Carlos, was with several Sandy police officers, including Taylor, during a minor traffic stop.

When Rubio arrived to assist his son, the suit claims, Taylor “screamed” at him and Carlos, “referring to them as ‘homies.’ ” Carlos later claimed that Taylor threatened to kill him during that encounter, a claim refuted by Officer Ernie Roberts, who was on the scene.

The second stated encounter with Taylor was on May 27, 2005 – the date Carlos was found guilty of eluding police from an incident the July before.

He said that while at the Clackamas County Courthouse, Taylor “screamed” at him, saying, “I’m warning you, Mr. Rubio, you’re not going to like what’s going to happen to you.”

Rubio said that statement made him “live in constant fear that (Taylor) would carry out his threats against him.” He also says that the experience made him “especially susceptible to severe mental and emotional distress” due to that fear.

The third encounter the lawsuit references was on March 10, 2006, when Rubio encountered Taylor at a grocery store parking lot. He said that Taylor, off-duty at the time, blocked his walking path with his white pickup.

Sandy Police told The Post that Rubio had traveled to Taylor’s house and frightened his wife.

Through the truck’s window, Rubio alleges, Taylor screamed for Rubio to “quit (expletive) with my wife or I’ll (expletive) you up,” and, “I’m gonna get you, you little sucker.”

Rubio says that as a direct result of his encounters with Taylor, Rubio “suffered severe mental and emotional distress, fear, humiliation, embarrassment, anxiety, loss of reputation and inconvenience,” which totals non-economic damages of $100,000.

Taylor said he will be represented by a lawyer provided by the city, and plans to countersue Rubio for unwanted contact, harassment and libelous comments.

“I’ve had a long career as a police officer,” Taylor said. “I think I need to look after my reputation.”

Merrill says he’s trying to have the trial scheduled for June 19.

Lawsuit no. 5: Woodring's federal case

In January, Estacada resident Britt Woodring filed a $3.1 million lawsuit in U.S. District Court, alleging that officers Taylor and Bergin broke the law when they arrested him outside a restaurant in Sandy on Feb. 18, 2006.

After a fight with his wife, Woodring left his Estacada home for the restaurant at 38015 Highway 26.

In his official lawsuit papers, Woodring says he hadn’t had any alcohol before arriving at the restaurant, where he ordered a rum and coke. He said was never engaged in unlawful activity nor was he under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs that evening at the restaurant, despite witness and police reports alleging otherwise.

According to the police report, bartender Scott Conerly called the police, later telling them that Woodring “was acting strange as if he was on drugs and harassing several customers … just acting weird and being aggressive towards customers.” When police arrived, Bergin said Conerly told him he wanted Woodring removed.

Woodring’s lawsuit states that Conerly was just concerned about Woodring’s ability to drive and noted that he wasn’t causing problems or was engaged in illegal activity.

According to Woodring’s complaint, Taylor and Bergin approached him and directed him to stand by the door, “where Bergin began circling him and then asked him if he was resisting arrest.”

The complaint then alleges that Bergin “suddenly and forcibly” seized Woodring around his neck and upper chest with his police baton and his other arm, “despite the fact that (Woodring) had not yet even been questioned or warned,” nor arrested.

Woodring said that when he grabbed the baton in an attempt to release the pressure on his neck and chest he was tased on the inside of his right arm, and Taylor punched him hard in the face, which made him bleed and gave him a black eye.

He said Taylor inflicted several knee strikes upon him, and Bergin struck him on his right eye with the police baton and tased him again on the back of his left arm. Woodring said he fell to the ground, where he was tased two more times, which left permanent scars upon his chest.

The police report disputes Woodring’s account, noting that when Bergin told Woodring the bartender wanted him to leave the business, the Estacada man backed away from them.

Bergin said he and Taylor grabbed each of Woodring’s arms in an attempt to escort the man out of the restaurant. Woodring then allegedly broke an arm free from Bergin and pushed Taylor with his open hand.

Witness Andres J. Ford, said in his statement to police that the officers “started off nice” with Woodring until the man started pushing them with an open hand.

“It didn’t look avoidable to go hands on,” reflected Jordan Enos, another witness.

Taylor said he then grabbed the back of Woodring’s neck and told him to get on the ground, delivering two knee strikes to his abdomen area. When he didn’t get on the ground, Taylor punched Woodring in the face. At that point, both officers told him to stop struggling, and that he was under arrest.

When Woodring wouldn’t roll on his stomach or give up his arms, Bergin deployed the taser, striking the man four times total.

“We had given Woodring the opportunity to leave the bar and he would not,” Taylor reflected.

The officers took Woodring to the Clackamas County Jail, where he was incarcerated for about eight hours. He was charged with second-degree criminal trespass and resisting arrest, but the charges were dropped after the case was “no-complainted” when Woodring appeared for his arraignment.

Not long after the charges were thrown out, Bergin re-issued the citation at the urging of the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office because not necessary information was included in the original citation, but about a week before the September 2006 trial, the D.A. dismissed the charges because they learned that the physical struggle occurred before Woodring was placed under arrest.

In all, Woodring alleges that he was “subjected to excessive force, unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution by two Sandy police officers,” which violated his constitutional, civil and state rights.

Woodring seeks a total of $3.1 million against Taylor, Bergin and the city of Sandy, plus attorney’s fees, for non-economic damages and punitive judgments. That amount is divided into four claims: Use of excessive force, unlawful arrest and two claims of malicious prosecution — one for the first charges levied against Woodring, another for Bergin’s reissued citation.

The city’s official response to the complaint — filed last month — states that police had probably cause to arrest or otherwise take Woodring into custody, noting that the officers’ physical contact with him was “legally justified” in order for the officers to perform their duties, enforce the law and preserve order.

Calling the Woodring lawsuit “frivolous,” the city’s response includes a counterclaim against the plaintiff, seeking dismissal of the claims and payment of attorneys’ fees.

Lawsuit no. 6: Contreras' federal case

Electrician Samuel R. Contreras says his arrest for possession of a controlled substance, having a concealed weapon and tampering with a witness was a set up.

Kari Kelly called Sandy police after an argument on May 27, 2006, telling police that Contreras had drugs on his person and needed to be arrested. When police showed up, Roberts searched Contreras, only finding a knife that he used for his electrician work. Contreras walked away without incident.

In his police report, Roberts said that when he discovered the knife, Contreras told him he started carrying it after 9/11.

At first, Roberts said he wasn’t sure the knife qualified as a concealed weapon. After speaking with Clackamas County sheriff’s deputy Marcus Wold and researching concealed weapons law, “I felt the knife Mr. Contreras was carrying did, in fact, qualify as a concealed weapon.”

Later that evening, when Contreras was at a local bar, Roberts showed up, searched him a second time and arrested Contreras.

Later, Roberts searched Contreras a third time — a brief examination, Contreras said — this time finding a matchbook in his trenchcoat pocket, which had a small baggie of methamphetamine inside. Contreras was then charged with possession of a controlled substance, in addition to the concealed weapon charge. He spent two days at the Clackamas County Jail.

A third search isn’t unusual, Skelton said. “Sometimes you have to do a fast pat-down when you’re at a hot scene. You just make sure he doesn’t have any weapons and then you put the guy in the car.” The third, more in-depth search takes place at the police station. And sometimes, Skelton said, officers receive information that prompts them to conduct another search.

The complaint questions the discovery of the third search, since no contraband had been found in the two previous searches.

“The only person in physical contact with Plaintiff at any time after he had been placed in handcuffs following the second search at (the bar) was Defendant Roberts himself…” So, Contreras alleges, the only way the matchbook of meth could have made it into his jacket was by Roberts placing it there during the third search.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” Skelton said. “It’s the attorney talking. This is just stupid. We’ve arrested him on many occasions for the possession of drugs.” He noted that Contreras has several warrants for his arrest in California related to possession of narcotics, but said those warrants aren’t executable in Oregon.

Kelly wrote several letters confessing that she framed Contreras after the incident. The compliant states that she said she planted the drugs as part of an informal agreement with Roberts to turn in three criminals to keep her out of trouble for her own illegal drug issues — a deal called “give up three, go free.” When one of those letters — which was notarized — reached Roberts, he allegedly threatened Kelly with arrest for tampering with a witness.

On June 4, Contreras got in another argument with Kelly, after which Kelly went to the Sandy Police Department. She then gave Roberts a recorded statement that she wrote and notarized the letter, but did so under threat of physical harm from Contreras, which he denies.

Officers then arrested Contreras for tampering with a witness, and four days later Contreras was indicted for unlawful possession of methamphetamine, coercion and tampering with a witness. He spent another 88 days in jail.

Contreras alleges that his Constitutional rights were violated during the incidents in that he was detained and searched without reasonable suspicion and was arrested falsely. He also takes issue with the alleged informal “give up three, go free” policy.

Taylor is included in the lawsuit because Contreras said the officer told him he was going to “make a special project” out of him, either by forcing him to leave town or go to jail.

For non-economic and punitive damages, Contreras seeks a total of $21 million plus attorneys fees in three separate claims.

Contreras’ record shows two convictions between 1985 and 2006, giving false information to police and a felon in possession of a firearm. He was charged with several other crimes, including criminal mischief, attempting to elude police and possession of methamphetamine, all of which were dismissed.

“He’s been arrested a bunch of times,” Skelton said of Contreras. “He just likes his drugs.”

Sandy Police need better image

from The Sandy Post - editorial
The sextuple whammy of lawsuits against members of the Sandy Police Department make apparent the fact that the city’s law enforcement agency needs to work on its image.

Some locals have accused the department of being harassers, liars, thugs, racist against Hispanics – allegations that peaked in summer 2005 – and even murderers.

We may never know what happened in each of the cases related to the lawsuits that alleged police wrongdoing – those kinds of judgments should and will be left to the courts – but what we do know is that the department has a serious public relations problem in this city.

A big part of that is the fact that the department seems to be all business. The idea of the neighborhood cop is all but gone, and we feel that the Sandy Police Department must do more to become a community player, or it will continue to generate ill feelings, misunderstanding and perhaps more lawsuits.

The police should learn from their public safety colleagues at the Sandy Fire District. Local firefighters are always out in the community, whether it’s showing up at a Good Morning Sandy event for the Chamber of Commerce, lending a hand to help move furniture out of a business, manning information booths at local events or fitting helmets for free on weekends. These people are extremely visible, and are well-loved and respected.

We proudly display our “I (love) Sandy Fire” sticker on our door because that agency goes out of its way to show people it’s a part of this community.

The police, however, don’t put forth such an effort.

We can understand that the police department has fewer people and a growing demand, which could contribute to the employees just being “all business.” But there has to be a conscious decision in the department that it must join the community in more than just a law enforcement capacity.

Chief Harold Skelton needs to make this a priority, and it doesn’t even have to be that difficult. It could be as simple as having reserve (a.k.a. volunteer) police officers reading to children in the schools, in uniform. It could be having them man information booths at the Hometown Holiday Festival.

Of course, it would be ideal to have officers such as K.T. Taylor and Bill Bergin – the two officers specifically targeted in the recent lawsuits – out in the community in a non-enforcement capacity, so people can get to know them and realize they’re more than just the people you run into before getting busted. They need to be indisputably friendly faces in the city.

Officers are often confined to their patrol cars, offices or behind the impersonal walls and Plexiglas at the police station. They don’t get information out to the public in a timely manner (The Post finds that reports are often filed several weeks after incidents occur – and those are the “simple” cases such as DUII and dog-at-large). And they aren’t forthcoming with important information about cases; we tend to get much more information from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office – which is based in Oregon City – than we do from our own neighborhood police force.

That’s not the kind of open-door policy necessary to build trust and respect. Instead, it creates an atmosphere of secrecy and elitism, one that easily gives birth to conspiracy theories and shocking allegations.

Skelton needs to make community involvement and “sunshine” operations his primary goal in the department to bring credibility and respect back to the Sandy Police Department. The face of the department has to change from one that’s scowling and half-cloaked to one that smiles and is recognizable. Until the chief makes openness and community involvement (outside policing) a priority, the department will continue to struggle, as it is now.

Kaady family names city, county in federal lawsuit

Renowned attorney Gerry Spence hired

By Marcus Hathcock

The Sandy Post, Sep 14, 2006, Updated Sep 20, 2006

The family of Fouad Kaady filed a lawsuit against the city of Sandy and Clackamas County last week in federal court, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of Kaady's death.

Kaady was shot and killed by Sandy police officer Bill Bergin and Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputy Dave Willard Sept. 8, 2005, after a string of seemingly bizarre events including several hit-and-run collisions, a car fire and a possible assault.

He was naked, bleeding and severely burned during the fatal police encounter near Cottrell Grade School, northwest of Sandy.

The 31-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, Sept. 6, claims that the county, the city and the officers violated Kaady’s civil rights. The 10-claim complaint alleges excessive force, unconstitutional arrest and wrongful death.

Specifically, the suit accuses the defendants of “unreasonable use of a Taser weapon”, “unreasonable use of deadly force”, “unconstitutional municipal policy” in Clackamas County and in the city of Sandy, “unlawful policy” by the acts of Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts and Sandy Police Chief Harold Skelton, having an “informal custom and policy” that encourages Taser use over physical restraint tactics, and initiating an unconstitutional arrest.

Furthermore, it claims that the police-involved shooting was “oppressive, malicious … (and) motivated by evil motive or intent.”

Kaady family members seek monetary damages in an amount to be determined at trial. That amount would include memorial service expenses, the loss of Kaady’s lifetime wages, compensation for pain and suffering, attorneys’ fees and punitive judgments against the officers.

“We’re hoping for a fair and just exploration of what happened, and maybe some result that will be a living testament to Fouad Kaady’s life,” said Michelle Burrows one of the Kaady family’s attorneys.

A Clackamas County Grand Jury cleared Bergin and Willard of all wrongdoing last year and an internal investigation by the sheriff’s office and the Sandy Police Department determined that they had fully complied with department policies and procedures. Both officers have returned to duty.

Sheriff Craig Roberts and Sandy Police Chief Harold Skelton defended the actions of the officers, saying that in unstable situations such as the Kaady case, sometimes split-second decisions must be made to protect law enforcement officers.

The family has hired Wyoming attorney Gerry Spence, who is known for handling high-profile cases. He represented Brandon Mayfield – the Portland-area man whose fingerprints were erroneously linked to the 2004 Madrid train bombings.

Spence is most famous for his work in the 1984 Karen Silkwood case, where he successfully argued that Silkwood’s employer – a plutonium production plant – was responsible for exposing her to dangerous levels of radiation. A jury awarded Silkwood’s estate $10.5 million.

He boasts on his Web site that he has never lost a criminal case, and hasn’t lost a civil trial since 1969. Spence will reportedly handle the main arguments in the trial, which isn’t likely to begin for at least a year, said Burrows, the local attorney representing Spence’s firm.

The next step, she said, is to “legally and technically serve the defendants with the paperwork we filed.” The fact-finding, “discovery” process of building the case will begin in the next few months, and a trial will come after that.

“In a perfect world we’d be looking at a trial a year to 18 months from now,” Burrows said.

Skelton and City Manager Scott Lazenby said they have been told by their attorneys not to comment on the pending litigation.

Family of Fouad Kaady files federal lawsuit

The Gresham man was shot by Sandy and Clackamas County police a year ago

The Sandy Post, Sep 7, 2006, Updated Sep 8, 2006

The family of Fouad Kaady filed a lawsuit against the city of Sandy and Clackamas County this week in federal court, coinciding with the one year anniversary of Kaady's death.

Kaady was shot and killed by Sandy police officer Bill Bergin and Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputy Dave Willard Sept. 8, 2005, after a string of seemingly bizarre events including several hit-and-run collisions, a car fire and a possible assault.

Police claimed they were threatened by Kaady and maintain that their split-second decision was unfortunate, but justified.

Family members say Kaady, who was badly burned and bleeding at the time of the encounter, was in need of help and was unjustly shot.

Rumors of a lawsuit have circulated since a Clackamas County Grand Jury cleared the two involved officers of all criminal wrongdoing last fall.

In addition to the city and the county, the Kaady family is suing Bergin and Willard individually.

Representatives from the Sandy Police Department, the city of Sandy and Clackamas County would not comment on the case due to the pending litigation.

For background information on the case, read "The Kaady Files" at: www.sandypost.com/news/story.php?story_id=115654635282841200

The Fouad Kaady files

Story surrounding Fouad Kaady shooting materializes with phonebook-size stack of files from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

By Marcus Hathcock

The Sandy Post, Aug 19, 2006, Updated Aug 25, 2006
Originally published November 2005.

Many new revelations surrounding the police shooting of Fouad Kaady surfaced in a phonebook-size stack of case files released by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office had kept quiet about details surrounding the incident until Oct. 24, when it released the stack of information compiled by the multi-jurisdictional Major Crimes Team. Much of that information was presented to the Clackamas County Grand Jury, which ultimately vindicated the officers of any criminal charges.

Part I: Peculiar behavior

While there is debate among witnesses and even Kaady’s friends over whether Kaady was on drugs or mentally disturbed or neither, many who testified agreed that the man was not acting like himself in the hours, days and even weeks before the events that led to his death.

Shortly after the Sept. 8 shooting, one of Kaady’s closest friends for two years, Sarah Maness of Portland, told police that Kaady had suffered from depression several weeks before the incident. “He’s been pissed at everything,” she noted.

Maness said she and friend Tarek Ibrahim had discussed how they were worried about Kaady. “He just wasn’t making sense, mentally,” she said. After she and Kaady had a minor falling out, Kaady told Maness not to call him for a month. She text-messaged his cell phone, to which he replied, “I told you not to call me for a month, so if you want to text back, I'll show you who evil fled is.”

Maness said she didn’t understand what “evil fled” meant, but she and Ibrahim felt trouble was coming. “We knew in our hearts that something was going to happen. We felt it.”

Kaady’s father, Rashid, said his son recently had broken up with a girlfriend, a woman known only as named Alexa from Colorado.

Cousin Thomas Oreste said Kaady had a lot of stress piling up on him, noting that if possible financial problems, possible girlfriend problems and maybe some other less-obvious problem piled up, it was possible Kaady was depressed.

A coworker, Mohammed Jamal, said Kaady had not acted strange in recent memory, just tired. Kaady’s sisters said he was happy overall with his life and the direction it was taking. Vania Kaady said her brother had just received his real estate license and was excited about selling real estate with his mother. The family also was eagerly anticipating a trip to Las Vegas for a cousin’s wedding. Kaady was scheduled to pick up his mother at the airport the evening of Sept. 8.

Despite the concern of friends weeks earlier, no bizarre behavior was reported until about 6:30 a.m. Sept. 8, when Kaady was spotted driving recklessly in the Mt. Hood Community College parking lot. Witnesses claimed he was doing 360-degree turns and burnouts in his pickup before campus security took notice of him.

Responding security officer Jefferson Potts said Kaady’s car had a strong smell of marijuana. When Potts approached Kaady to stop the vehicle from driving erratically in the parking lot, the pickup accelerated and drove over a 3-foot embankment. Potts said Kaady then drove along the top of the berm, proceeding eastbound on Stark before bottoming out on the edge of the pavement.

He was next spotted at his father’s Gresham home, wearing a suit. Rashid said his son’s behavior didn’t strike him as odd.

At about 9:47 a.m., Kaady bought two packs of cigarettes from the Hilton Haven drive-through tobacco store on 212th and Stark Street, a place he frequented.

According to clerk Rudd McGarity, Kaady wasn’t acting like himself. He overpaid for his cigarettes with a jar filled with change and was not interested in getting the additional cash back.

After paying, McGarity said, “He just looked at me a little frazzled.” He asked Kaady if he was OK, to which he replied, “No, I’m not OK.” McGarity said Kaady didn’t act like he was on drugs, but instead acted like “something major just happened to him, like he had the worst news of his life and had to go deal with it.” Kaady drove off without saying another word.

Nearly three hours later, Kaady was spotted at the parking lot for Rick’s Custom Fencing at the corner of 202nd and Stark.

James Blankenship of Rick’s Custom Fencing said he and some coworkers watched Kaady “fool around” in his pickup for about 10 minutes before taking off running, wearing only boxer shorts. “It was weird,” Blankenship recalled.

Dave Lee Lucky of neighboring Gresham Towing said some Rick’s employees told him Kaady had run off flailing his arms.

What happened next is at the heart of the debate over what caused the alleged hit-and-run accidents. Family members say Kaady’s pickup ran out of gas at Rick’s, a claim later substantiated by Gresham Towing.

Kaady, the family says, ran to his father’s house to get a gas can and returned to Rick’s to find his car had been towed. He then took his mother’s blue Buick LeSabre and the gas can to search for the tow lot in the Sandy area.

They said he ignited gasoline fumes coming from the can after he lit a cigarette in the car. The can burst open, setting him on fire and setting into motion a series of events that led to three collisions, a head injury and his death.

But Gresham Towing stated that Kaady’s truck was not towed from Rick’s parking lot until mid-morning Saturday, Sept. 10 — two days after Kaady died.
Part II: Collision course

According to the Kaady family, Fouad drove his mother’s car to find a Sandy-area lot where his pickup was towed from Rick’s Custom Fencing in Gresham.

The next person to see Kaady was Sandy resident Tiffany Stanko, who was on her way home from work, traveling on Bluff Road. As Stanko neared her home, she suddenly spotted the blue Buick LeSabre that Kaady was driving in her rear view mirror, coming up “really fast.”

She said the car hit the back of her vehicle and continued to push her forward at 70 miles per hour. Stanko said she tried to keep her car pointed straight while being pushed, but eventually she began to turn sideways, sending her into a nearby ditch at about 40 miles per hour.

Greg Elwell of Boring said he was stunned as he watched “the end of a horrible accident” in his rear view mirror. He sped up as he saw the LeSabre continue toward him in order to avoid a collision. Elwell said the hood of Kaady’s car was smashed up a couple feet, leaving only a few inches of windshield visibility.

After the LeSabre struck Elwell’s car, he hit his brakes in order to slow Kaady down, since Elwell believed the driver was unconscious. Before long, he said the LeSabre pulled away, and Kaady gave Elwell a “thumbs up” as he passed.

“He was out of control,” Elwell recalled, driving “completely crazy.”

Kaady’s family maintains that Fouad’s erratic driving was caused by a dangerous situation inside the car. They said his pickup had run out of gas before it was towed, and that he had brought a gasoline can from his parents’ house to refuel the vehicle. Kaady lost control of his vehicle when he accidentally ignited the gas can’s fumes with a lit cigarette.

Sheriff’s Detective Steve Hyson later reported that Kaady’s body had severe burns “about his upper torso, face, and into his scalp.” Sandy firefighter Brent Hergert said Kaady had burns from his mid-sternum up, which would have put the man’s health in “serious condition.”

But the Oregon State Police Arson Investigation Team found there was no evidence to indicate that the LeSabre’s fire had started from inside the car. They did not find any remnants of a metal or plastic gas can in the car.

In between the two collisions, Carol Vinnacombe said she saw Kaady pass her on Bluff Road.

“He grabbed onto (his) steering wheel and looked really intensely. It seemed to me his eyes were wide, like he just had this wild look on his face,” she told police.

Vinnacombe said she noticed smoke coming from the front of the car and underneath it but not from within it. She said she never saw flames.

Before crashing into a forested area on Bluff Road near Hauglum Road, Kaady’s car left a trail of three grass fires, which, according to Sandy Fire Captain Art Blaisdell, were about 30 square feet in size and were about 30 feet apart by the time fire crews arrived to extinguish them.

Fire Chief Gary McQueen said the fires were likely ignited because Kaady's car leaked fuel after the collision with Stanko.

After Kaady’s car came to an abrupt stop in the woods, Sandy resident Tamara Sedgwick said she got out of her car and yelled to find out if Kaady was okay. She said a voice then answered back something like, “I’m here. I’ve known you all my life.”

She said a man, later identified as Ronald Poirier, had gone into the woods to help Kaady but had come back after Kaady allegedly kicked him in the chest. After Poirier came out, Sedgwick said Kaady kept saying, “Yeah, come back in here. Come back in here; I’m hurt,” but not sincerely, in a “taunting” way.

“He was yelling, almost screaming,” she recalled. “It wasn’t the voice of somebody who was in desperation and dying; more smart allecky. He was definitely not acting normal.”

Witness Frayne Leigh McAtee of Edmonds, Wash., also said Kaady was screaming in the woods, like he was angry with someone.

Poirier, a surveyor working in the area, said he immediately ran into the woods to check on Kaady after seeing his car crash. He said he found the man standing in the wooded area, totally naked, about 25 to 30 yards away from the roadway.

He asked Kaady if he was okay, to which the man mimicked, “Are you okay?” in what Poirier said was a “sarcastic tone.” He said Kaady then ran at him, jumped up and kicked him hard in the center of his chest.

Poirier said he grabbed Kaady’s foot and spun him down the ground before running out of the woods. He too said Kaady called out after him, saying, “Come on, come on, anytime.”

Kaady’s family has alleged that Poirier had sought out Kaady after learning that he had caused the man’s niece, Stanko, to crash her car. According to Kaady’s cousin Zaki Kahl, Poirier came at Fouad with a bat and grabbed him. Kahl said Kaady kicked Poirier to defend himself.

Poirier said he had no knowledge of his niece’s wreck until coming home after the incident, and no knowledge of the accident’s connection to the naked man until hours later.

The group of people standing in front of the burning car told 9-1-1 operators that they heard what they thought was a gunshot from within the forest, but investigators never found a gun at the scene. McQueen said the sound likely came from the LeSabre’s tires exploding during the car fire.

Nearly a dozen people called to report the car fire and the various brush fires that had started to grow. Sandy Police Officer Bergin and Sheriff’s deputy Willard were among those sent to the fire scene to protect Sandy firefighters tasked with extinguishing the blazes. Bergin blocked the road with his patrol car. With reports of a naked, possibly armed man in the woods, Deputy Willard took out his shotgun to give firefighters cover had they needed it.

Meanwhile, after walking westward through the woods and the property of a nearby nursery, Kaady emerged on Southeast 362nd Avenue, bleeding and burned. He walked northbound on 362nd and quickly caught the attention of many in the area.

Sherri Markham saw Kaady after her dog started barking at the man. Markham said Kaady appeared to have a “normal gait,” and that there was nothing odd about him, other than the fact that he was naked and bloody.

The officers were advised that a state trooper had been flagged down by a woman who claimed a naked man was walking down Southeast 362nd Avenue. Bergin and Willard ran toward Bergin’s patrol vehicle. Willard hung on to his shotgun. The two headed north on Bluff Road as Kaady encountered more people on 362nd.

Paul White was working in his front yard when Kaady passed him. “He wasn’t saying any words,” White recalled. “He was just making noises.” White said Kaady “looked pretty bad,” with a “good share of his body covered in blood.”

Kaady came within 10 feet of White and grunted at him.

“The look in his eyes was like a dazed look,” White said.

The close encounter frightened White enough to prompt him to grab a stick for protection. “I didn’t even know what I was dealing with at the time.”

As Kaady walked down the road, White said the man was “howling like a wolf and acting like an airplane. He was just acting goofy.”

Herbert Lloyd was also outside his house when Kaady walked by. He described the man as “painted up all red, screaming, and trotting stark naked.”

Elaine Thornlimb had followed Kaady in her SUV since the man emerged onto 362nd. She said Kaady waved at her and seemed unaware of his injuries. When dogs barked at him, she said he would bark back.

Thornlimb trailed Kaady slowly while she called 9-1-1 to get the man medical help and motioned other would-be Good Samaritans away. Two different times during his northbound walk, Kaady turned around, jumped on Thornlimb’s vehicle and pounded on her sunroof. After the second time, he sat down on the road, cross-legged and growling.

It was then that the patrol car carrying Bergin and Willard approached from the north.
Part III: Confrontation

Fouad Kaady already had been through a lot by the time police found him traveling northbound on Southeast 362nd Avenue. Witnesses said he drove erratically in the Mt. Hood Community College parking lot and appeared to have “lost everything” while at a drive-through cigarette shop.

According to the Kaady family, Fouad drove his mother’s car to find a Sandy-area lot where his pickup was towed from Rick’s Custom Fencing in Gresham earlier that day. Once in the Sandy area, Kaady collided with two different cars, set three grass fires and crashed into a ditch on Bluff Road.

After walking westward through the woods and the property of a nearby nursery, Kaady emerged on Southeast 362nd Avenue, naked, bleeding and burned. He walked northbound and quickly caught the attention of many in the area.

Several witnesses testified that when Sandy Police Officer Bill Bergin and Clackamas County Sheriff’s Deputy David Willard pulled up to the naked hit-and-run suspect, they emerged from the squad car, guns drawn. One of Kaady’s hands was tucked into his lap.

“He appeared to be just kind of catatonic,” Willard said, noting that Kaady was just sitting and rocking, not looking at anyone.

For the next four to five minutes, the officers talked with Kaady, urging him to lie on his stomach, a command Kaady reportedly ignored. Family members say that Kaady did not want to put his burned flesh on the hot pavement, although police say they pointed to a grassy area.

“We wanted to get him to lie on his stomach so that we could get him in restraints,” Bergin said. “That’s one of the safest ways to apprehend a cooperative subject.”

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.

After it was clear to the police that Kaady wasn’t going to comply with their commands, Willard threatened him with a Taser — a nonlethal weapon that delivers 50,000 volts of electricity to a subject via two metal prongs.

“Please don’t,” Kaady said to the police. He wearily begged but still did not comply with the officers’ commands.

One of the witnesses closest to the incident, Ron Van Meter of Van Meter Nursery, said Kaady was growling at the officers and taunting them throughout the exchange.

“He just kind of sat there and shook his head,” Bergin agreed, “and almost had like a grin (on) his face.”

Bergin then sneaked behind Kaady and shot the Taser barbs into the suspect’s shoulder blades, which sent Kaady flat on his back.

“He continued to move a little bit during the first shock,” Willard said, “which sort of surprised me.”

Officers then told Kaady to roll on his stomach or he’d be shocked again. There was no response. Bergin delivered another shock through the barbs that were still in Kaady’s back.

“At this point,” Bergin told investigators later, “he started laughing and giggling.”

Kaady then sat up. Willard fired his Taser, but only one barb penetrated Kaady’s arm.

Then, according to several witnesses, Kaady sprang up with a burst of energy. “He went nutso on them” all of the sudden, said witness Herbert Lloyd.

“He came to life with a vigor of energy,” agreed Karl Neering, who was working at Van Meter Nursery about 50 feet away from the scene. He said Kaady soon realized that the Taser darts were causing him pain, and he physically removed them from his shoulder blades and arm.

“He basically became wilder and wilder. I was afraid,” Neering said.

At about that time, an ambulance arrived at the scene and parked a few hundred feet to the north of the incident. Paramedic Barbara Noland said that from the time Kaady sprang up, “he was wild and appeared to be out of control.”

Willard said Kaady was still visibly being shocked when he got up. “I remembered thinking, ‘Oh, my God, I’m Tasing this guy and he’s getting up.’ And I started to get really scared about the kind of strength I was seeing.”

Van Meter said he was concerned that Kaady was going to come and attack him and admitted that if he came any closer, he would have been forced to run him over to protect himself.

Co-worker Pavel Androsov said the burst of energy sent Kaady running zig-zag toward the patrol car. Witness Robert Montgomery said Kaady “came at” the officers but noted, “He was either trying to get away or was trying to attack them.”

The officers testified that it was the latter. Willard said Kaady ran away from the officers until the Taser darts came out of his body. “Then he turned and faced us,” he said.

They alleged that Kaady had repeatedly yelled, “I’m going to kill you!” as he ran at them. No other witnesses reported that Kaady said that.

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.

Many witnesses said the next few moments happened extremely fast.

Several witnesses said Kaady was just standing and/or jumping up and down on the patrol car and didn’t say that he was in attack stance. But police say Kaady readied himself to lunge at Willard and again threatened to kill the officers.

Bergin said he was concerned that Kaady was about to attack the deputy to hurt him or steal his handgun. He was also worried that the suspect would try to get the shotgun on the hood of the car.

Willard said he didn’t want Kaady to touch him for any reason and yelled, “Shoot!”

He fired three very quick succession rounds at the center of Kaady’s chest. Bergin fired five shots. They shot to kill, assuming that the man was on drugs and that he could have possessed chemically enhanced strength. Toxicology reports, which could corroborate or disprove that theory, will not be released.

Willard said after that after Kaady was hit three times, he exhibited what appeared to be a shocked, surprised look before he fell backward onto the pavement.
The aftermath

Witnesses have varying opinions on the police officers’ use of deadly force. Van Meter said the officers had no other alternative because the man was out of control.

Montgomery said he felt the deadly force was unnecessary since Kaady was docile before being shot with the Taser. Montgomery said he knew police were scared by the way they were moving and acting.

Noland said she was surprised the officers didn’t tackle Kaady since they had the chance when he was sitting on the ground.

Witnesses Elaine Thornlimb and Paul White were also horrified at the incident’s end.

Androsov noted that he thought the police shot Kaady too many times.

A grand jury vindicated Bergin and Willard of any criminal charges, but Kaady supporters continue to protest the action. “Never forget Fouad” stickers have been distributed, and there has been talk of a civil suit against the county or a federal appeal of the grand jury decision. Kaady family attorney Shannon Connall was unavailable for comment as of press time.

Although the police were not indicted and will not face criminal charges, both the Sandy Police Department and the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office have vowed that internal shooter review boards will conduct additional investigations to determine whether policies and procedures were followed in the Kaady incident. Police are due to return the results of those investigations by Friday, Nov. 25.