Portland Blames Man Shot By Police In Homeless Shelter For His Own Death

By Conrad Wilson (OPB) and Ericka Cruz Guevarra (OPB)
Portland, Oregon Oct. 23, 2018 4:24 p.m.

The city of Portland says the man who entered a homeless shelter with a knife in April is to blame for his own death, according to a filing in federal court Monday.

Portland Police Bureau officers and one Multnomah County sheriff's deputy shot and killed John Elifritz, 48, on April 7 inside the Cityteam Ministries homeless shelter on Southeast Grand Avenue. Elifritz entered the shelter with a knife during an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He stabbed himself in the neck and then appeared to run toward officers while holding the knife. A grand jury ultimately decided not to criminally charge the officers for shooting Elifritz.

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In May, Elifritz's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, arguing the city is liable for Elifritz's death. They claim it was an unjustified police shooting of a man suffering from mental health crises.

On Monday, the city responded to the civil action.

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"City defendants are not at fault in the action pled by plaintiff because the death of Mr. Elifritz was the sole and exclusive fault of Mr. Elifritz," the city wrote in its court filing. "Plaintiff’s injuries and resulting damages, if any, were caused, in whole or substantial part, by Mr. Elifritz’s own criminal, reckless and negligent action."

Prior to the shooting on April 7, Elifritz carjacked a woman and made a call to police saying his family was dead, when in fact they weren't. Later, police say they followed Elifritz into the shelter where they told him to drop the knife and also used non-lethal rounds in an effort to deter him.

"City defendants admit that after repeated directions were given to Mr. Elifritz to drop the knife he was wielding, and instead Mr. Elifritz charged at police officers holding the knife ... [officers] intentionally shot at Mr. Elifritz," the city's court filing states. "City defendants expressly deny any malicious intent."

The attorney representing Elifritz's family criticized the city's response to his clients' lawsuit.

"As expected, the city continues to deny the pattern and practice of excessive and lethal force utilized by the PPB," said civil rights attorney Andrew Stroth. "John Elifritz was unjustifiably and unconstitutionally shot and killed by a group of rogue police officers. When John was shot, he was suffering a mental health crisis and needed help, not a militarized response by the Portland police."

The city says officers acted intentionally and were responding to threats by Elifritz. PPB officer Kameron Fender, one of the officers involved in Elifritz's shooting, was involved in a separate shooting Friday.

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