Fatal Police Shooting Justified, Grand Jury Finds

PORTLAND, OR — The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office on Wednesday announced the grand jury determination that officers were justified when they used deadly force against John Andrew Elifritz April 7.

After a day of 911 calls, a carjacking, and multiple threats of suicide, 48-year-old Elifritz was killed when five Portland police officers and one Multnomah County deputy opened fire at a homeless shelter in downtown Portland.

PPB officials had previously identified eight law enforcement officers who were said to be involved in the shooting, but on Wednesday only named the following six individuals:

• Officer Kameron Fender;
• Officer Alexandru Martiniuc;
• Officer Bradley Nutting;
• Officer Chad Phifer;
• Officer Andrew Polas; and
• Deputy Aaron Sieczkowski.

The two other officers previously named, Richard Bailey and Justin Damerville, reportedly used less lethal force against Elifritz prior to the officer-involved shooting and did not fire live rounds with the other six individuals, PPB officials said.

Elifritz, reportedly armed with a knife and cutting himself in the moments before the fatal shooting, had led law enforcement all over the city as they sought to end his erratic behavior throughout the day.

The Bureau released its timeline of events shortly after the shooting, which helped to make some sense of the day's chaotic events, but video of the shooting taken and uploaded online by a guest at the homeless shelter left many with questions about whether officers could have handled the situation differently — whether Elifritz really needed to die that day.

"After hearing the facts and reviewing all the evidence, the grand jury determined that the use of deadly force was a lawful exercise of self-defense under Oregon law," PPB spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson said in a statement. "The Portland Police Bureau is continuing to conduct an internal review of the entire incident.

"Once the internal review is complete, the case will be presented to the Police Review Board (PRB), which is comprised of community members, Bureau members and representatives from the Independent Police Review Division," Simpson continued. "The Bureau expects this review to be complete within the next 90 days."

Investigative material related to the shooting will likely be released by May 25, Simpson said.

"The Portland Police Bureau remains committed to transparency and sharing all available information with the community," PPB Chief Danielle Outlaw said. "We ask that community members be patient as all of the reports and video files are prepared for public release."

For more on this incident, see Patch's previous report here.

Image via Portland Police Bureau