Grand Jury Transcripts In Portland Shelter Shooting Delayed By New State Law

By Conrad Wilson (OPB)
Portland, Ore. May 10, 2018 6:31 p.m.

Grand jury transcripts stemming from the officer-involved shooting at a Portland homeless shelter last month will take longer to become public than past incidents, because of a new state law.

Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill said in a statement Wednesday his office plans to file a motion to have the proceedings transcribed and released.

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Related: No Charges For 8 Officers Involved In Portland Shelter Shooting

Under Senate Bill 505, which Oregon lawmakers passed during the 2017 legislative session, law enforcement officers have 10 days to request the transcripts be redacted.

"If the motion for a protective order requests that a portion of the audio recording, notes, report or transcript be redacted, the motion must be accompanied by a specific description, including the date and time, of the portion of the audio recording, notes, report or transcript to be redacted," SB 505 states.

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Portland Police Association President Darryl Turner said at this point none of the seven Portland Police officers involved in the shooting plan to have portions of their testimony redacted.

"We have nothing to hide," Turner told OPB on Thursday. "Once the grand jury is over and the information is released to the public, we obviously have nothing that we want to keep from the public."

Related: Shooting At Shelter Only Adds To Trauma For Homeless Portlanders

On Wednesday, Underhill's office announced the eight law enforcement officers involved in last month’s shooting will not face criminal charges. In addition to the seven police officers, one Multnomah County sheriff’s deputy was involved in the shooting that left 48-year-old John Andrew Elifritz dead.

In a statement, Underhill said a grand jury heard testimony for four days related to the case before deciding they wouldn't indict any of the officers.

This is the first officer-involved shooting to occur in Multnomah County after SB 505 went into effect in August 2017.

In past shootings where officers have not been indicted, the Multnomah County DA has released the grand jury proceedings as soon as the transcripts are completed.

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