KILLED BY POLICE WHILE UNARMED - Candlelight Vigil honoring Jordan Case, dead at 19.
author: Ben Stagl
 e-mail: benjaminstagl@gmail.com
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Invitation to peaceful candelight vigil for Jordan Case. Help us stand up for our rights so others may have what he was denied. Friday, April 4th, Terry Schrunk Plaza. Facts of incident provided in article. More in Willamette Week April 2nd 2008 "Cops, Shots, and Shrooms"
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(from Draft Complaint)
I. FACTS
1. In October 2006, Jordan L. Case was just 20 years old when he was tragically shot and killed by Washington County Sheriff Deputy Glenn Howard. Before his death, he worked full-time in the warehouse of a local technology company, a job he held for two years. He was intelligent and aspired to attend Oregon State University.
2. On the night of October 21, 2006, Jordan L. Case experimented with ingesting hallucinogenic mushrooms. Jordan was disoriented as a result of the effects of the mushrooms and left his apartment and entered another apartment in his complex through its unlocked front door. The woman who owned the apartment, Sally Arellano, called defendant WCCCA to report that there was a man in her apartment she did not know who told her that he was on mushrooms.
3. Officer Jayne of the Tualatin Police Department responded to the call. The WCCCA dispatcher did not tell Jayne that Jordan was on mushrooms. In addition, Washington County's computer-aided dispatch system was not working that evening, which meant that officers' mobile data terminals were inoperable. As a result, officers could not look up information on dispatch calls and instead had to rely solely on information relayed to them via radio.
4. Jayne refused another officer's offer to back him up. Instead, he approached the apartment with his ride-along passenger as his only support. Jayne entered the apartment to discover that Arellano, who is approximately 5'2" and 120 pounds, had subdued Jordan by straddling him and holding his arms pinned down to the floor. Arellano left the room when she saw that the police had arrived.
5. Jordan remained on the floor after Arellano left the room. Jayne shouted at Jordan to lie flat on his stomach and put his hands out. Jayne then grabbed Jordan's hand and put his knee in Jordan's back to force Jordan to remain on the floor. Jayne then tased Jordan twice, though Jayne is 200 pounds and Jordan was unarmed, weighed only 128 pounds and had made no move to assault Jayne. The taser made Jordan scream and convulse on the floor. Jayne then decided to call for back up officers to respond to the scene.
6. Jayne tased Jordan a third time, though Jordan was still on the floor and Jayne had his foot on Jordan's wrist and the ride-along passenger had his foot in the small of Jordan's back. The taser made Jordan kick and writhe on the floor.
7. Jayne tased Jordan a fourth time, again causing Jordan to scream and flail on the floor. The taser wires broke and Jordan stood up and walked away toward the apartment's master bedroom.
8. Jayne tased Jordan a fifth time, though Jordan was walking away from Jayne and posed no threat to him. Jordan again collapsed to the floor and writhed in pain.
9. As Jordan got up from the floor, Jayne told him to sit on the bed in the master bedroom. Jordan moved toward Jayne and Jayne threw him over the bed in the master bedroom and onto to the floor on the other side. Jordan then stood up, put his hands up and told Jayne "Hey, I'm right here." Rather than detain Jordan, who was obviously confused and disoriented, Jayne decided to back out of the apartment and told his ride-along passenger to do the same. Jordan followed the two men out of the apartment.
10. Jayne failed to detain Jordan as Jordan came out the door and Jordan ran across the street. Jordan was wearing only shorts and a t-shirt and did not have on socks or shoes. Jayne pursued Jordan on foot and announced on the radio that he was in pursuit.
11. Sherwood Police Officer Adam Keesee arrived on the scene. Jordan stopped running and faced the two officers. Keesee shouted a warning to Jordan to get on the ground. Jordan walked toward Keesee.
12. Keesee then shot Jordan with a beanbag round from close range, though Jordan had made no move or sound to indicate he would assault Keesee, or that he even understood Keesee's order to get on the ground. Jordan winced and collapsed to the ground.
13. Jordan stood up and Keesee shot Jordan with a beanbag round two more times, which again toppled Jordan to the ground. Jordan then struggled to his feet and walked toward Keesee.
14. Keesee warned Jordan to stop and then shot him with beanbag rounds two more times. Jordan winced and fell to the ground again.
15. At no point did Jordan make any verbal threat or physical movement indicating he would harm Keesee.
16. Washington County Deputy Glenn Howard arrived on the scene and parked his patrol car on the road within sight of Keesee, Jayne and Jordan. Jordan got up from the ground and walked toward the patrol car.
17. Howard got out of the patrol car and left the car running with the doors unlocked, though the car contained a rifle locked in a rack above the front seat. As Jordan got closer to the car, Howard yelled at him to stay away from the car.
18. Though there were now three officers on the scene and Jordan was only 128 pounds, unarmed, outnumbered and did not make any threatening gestures toward the officers, at no point did any officer attempt to restrain Jordan without the use of the taser or other weapons. Instead, the officers elected to tase him and shoot him.
19. At no point did any officer request the presence of an officer trained in handling situations involving emotionally disturbed people.
20. At no point did any officer attempt to calm Jordan or to communicate with Jordan in any way other than shouting threats and commands to get down to the ground.
21. Howard tased Jordan seven consecutive times, causing Jordan to scream and convulse on the ground until the taser wires broke.
22. Jordan then attempted to get up by crawling up the side of the patrol car. Keesee shot Jordan in the back four times with beanbag rounds from close range.
23. Howard tased himself as he tried to reload his taser cartridge, dropped the taser and drew his service handgun. As Jordan got the car door open, Howard fired three lethal rounds at Jordan, hitting him in the chest. Jordan fell with his back against the car. Howard reloaded his handgun.
24. Jordan struggled to stand up one last time. Howard aimed and shot Jordan in the head. Jordan fell to the ground, where he lay gasping for air and bleeding while the three officers discussed how to handcuff him. He died from his injuries moments later.
25. As described herein, the force used against Jordan and his resulting death was so unreasonable and so arbitrary that it shocks the conscience.
26. As a result of the above conduct by Defendants, Jordan suffered and endured severe emotional distress and conscious, severe physical and mental pain and suffering before he died.
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