Parents of teen killed in 9-1-1 call intend to file suit

The Oregonian, by My-Thuan Tran

The parents of Lukus Glenn have filed an intent to sue Washington County, Tigard and the deputies and officer involved in shooting the 18-year-old former Tigard High School soccer and football star, claiming the authorities mishandled the situation that resulted in the death of their only son.

The family's lawyer, Larry Peterson of Lake Oswego, said the deputies opened fire too soon, failed to use other forms of nonlethal force and were not trained in crisis management, according to a letter sent Thursday. The notice also said Glenn's parents were not treated fairly during questioning after the shooting.

About 3 a.m. Sept. 16, two sheriff's deputies and a Tigard officer went to the Glenn home just north of Tigard after Hope Glenn called 9-1-1 saying her son was drunk, holding a knife to his throat and threatening the family. When Glenn refused to drop his pocket knife, the officer first shot him with bean bags and the deputies then opened fire as Glenn moved toward the house, striking him with eight bullets.

A Washington County district attorney's office investigation determined the deputies and officer were "legally justified," finding no cause for bringing the case to a grand jury.

Peterson, however, said the police officers could have prevented Glenn's death. A 9-1-1 recording of the shooting shows there is no gap between the bean-bag shots and the bullets fired by the deputies, Peterson wrote in the notice. He added that the deputies gave conflicting information about how much time passed before firing the fatal rounds.

"Where is the time gap? If you listen to the 9-1-1 tape, the shots are all simultaneous," Peterson said. "There is a clear disconnect between the statements made, and no one has bothered to answer that question."

The notice also said that the officers should have used a Taser, which fires non-lethal electric shocks, to subdue Glenn instead of opening fire. The Tigard police officer was carrying a Taser, Peterson said.

The notice claims the officers were not appropriately trained in using deadly force and in dealing with crisis situations.

"They overreacted to a distraught teenager with violent use of force," Peterson said.

Peterson also said investigators questioned Glenn's parents multiple times after the shooting without an attorney present, while the deputies and police officers had two days before their interviews.

Glenn's family requested a public inquest into the shooting but was denied by the Washington County Board of Commissioners.

"We don't feel like we are being treated fairly," Hope Glenn said. "In everyone's mind, the shooting was done by the book, and we don't believe that. We lost our only child. They took his life, and our lives will never be the same again."

Tigard city officials and a county spokesperson said they have received notice of the suit but declined to comment because of the pending litigation.

The dollar amount the family is suing for will be revealed in the lawsuit in the coming months, Peterson said.

In the meantime, the Washington County Sheriff's Office is wrapping up its administrative review into the department's deadly force policies and training, said Sgt. Dave Thompson, spokesperson for the sheriff's office.