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.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Homicides in county jump to 11 in 2006 from six last year
from The Oregonian, by Holly Danks
Washington County's homicides in 2006 nearly doubled from the previous year, due in part to a triple murder in Bethany and three police shootings.
Eleven people died at the hands of another in 2006, compared with six in 2005 and 10 in 2004. During the past six years, the county's annual homicide toll has averaged eight.
A change from past years is the absence of victims of domestic violence. "There was a time when half or more of the homicides were domestic violence," said District Attorney Robert W. Hermann, who has been a prosecutor for 31 years.
Homicides related to domestic violence "seem to have gone down over the years," Hermann said. He credited aggressive prosecution of domestic abuse cases and a restraining order program that confiscates guns.
But no program, Hermann said, could have saved Melody Dang and her sons, Steven and Jimmy. Investigators say the Dangs' killer was not someone in the family or even someone who knew them.
"Fortunately, it's something that we hardly ever see," Hermann said of the multiple murders. "Even the ones you read about tend to be family members."
The last triple murder in the county was in 1990, when Yoshio Morimoto of Beaverton killed his wife and two young children. Morimoto pleaded guilty during his 1992 trial and was sentenced to life in prison.
Charges were not filed in 2006's three police shootings, because the district attorney's office determined the shootings were justified.
Also, charges of manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide were not filed in the deaths of the four bicyclists killed by cars in 2006. Prosecutors and the grand jury determined the deaths were accidental, not criminal.
However, the district attorney's office charged six drivers with manslaughter in fatal crashes that killed their passengers or people in other vehicles. A jury found one guilty and two others pleaded guilty; trials are pending early in 2007 for the three remaining drivers.
Two more potential vehicular manslaughter cases are under district attorney review.
Here are the 11 Washington County homicides from 2006:
* Juan Humberto Rincon Cruz, 25, was shot to death March 25 in the parking lot of the Center Plaza Apartments in Beaverton. Police think the shots, which killed Rincon Cruz and wounded a friend after they left an apartment, were fired by people in a sport utility vehicle. Unsolved.
* Theodore Faulkner, 27, of Hillsboro was shot in the head May 27 by his friend, Dustin Eugene Ceballos, 30, of Banks, while the two sat in a parked car in Forest Grove. Police said both men were drunk and playing with a loaded gun. Ceballos pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and was sentenced Nov. 20 to five years' probation.
* Dulce Hernandez Onofre, 19 months, of Hillsboro died Aug. 2 after doctors at a Portland hospital declared her brain dead and took her off life support. Ramon Rodriguez Moreno, 27, of Hillsboro was arrested Aug. 1 after taking the child, who was his girlfriend's daughter, to the emergency room with a fractured skull. He is in the Washington County Jail on $250,000 bail, awaiting his May 15 trial for felony murder.
* William Johnson, 4 months, died of head injuries at a Portland hospital Sept. 9, two days after paramedics were called to his Cedar Mill home, when the baby wasn't breathing. The baby's father, Shawn Thornton Johnson Jr., 29, is in the Washington County Jail without bail on a charge of felony murder, awaiting his Sept. 7 trial.
* Lukus Glenn, 18, died Sept. 16 after being shot eight times by two Washington County sheriff's deputies outside his Tigard-area home. Glenn's family called 9-1-1 after the drunken teen, armed with a pocket knife, broke windows and made threats. When Glenn refused to put down the knife and moved toward the house, deputies fatally shot him. The district attorney's office upheld the deputies' actions and declined to send the case to a grand jury. The Glenn family and friends have called for a public hearing into the shooting.
* Neil Bruce Marcy, 45, of Forest Grove was shot to death Oct. 8 by officers from the Forest Grove and Cornelius police departments after he confronted them with a gun in each hand outside the College Place Apartments. The district attorney's office concluded the shooting was a suicide, because Marcy wanted police to kill him.
* Jordan Laird Case, 20, died Oct. 21 after being shot in the head by a Washington County sheriff's deputy. A Tualatin woman called 9-1-1 after awakening to find Case in her apartment. She and her 8-year-old daughter had to fight him off before police arrived. When Case reached inside the deputy's patrol car and tried to grab a locked gun, he was fatally shot. The woman told police that Case had said he was high on psychedelic mushrooms. The district attorney's office ruled the shooting justified.
* Melody Dang, 37, and her sons, Steven, 15, and Jimmy, 12, died of gunshot wounds Nov. 2 in their Bethany-area home. A month later, investigators arrested Ricardo Serrano, 31, of Aloha. Court documents indicate Serrano's wife was having an affair with Melody Dang's longtime live-in boyfriend, who was at work the night of the murders and found the bodies when he came home. Investigators say Serrano wanted the boyfriend to suffer and planned also to kill him. Serrano is charged with 10 counts of aggravated murder, and his death penalty trial is set for Feb. 12, 2008.
* Fleeta Sheely, 62, of Hillsboro had terminal cancer and was shot to death by her husband, Richard Sheely, 64, who then shot and killed himself in their Jackson Creek home. A co-worker of Fleeta Sheely's found their bodies in their bed on Nov. 15. Police said the door was open, and their wills and obituaries were laid out.
Washington County's homicides in 2006 nearly doubled from the previous year, due in part to a triple murder in Bethany and three police shootings.
Eleven people died at the hands of another in 2006, compared with six in 2005 and 10 in 2004. During the past six years, the county's annual homicide toll has averaged eight.
A change from past years is the absence of victims of domestic violence. "There was a time when half or more of the homicides were domestic violence," said District Attorney Robert W. Hermann, who has been a prosecutor for 31 years.
Homicides related to domestic violence "seem to have gone down over the years," Hermann said. He credited aggressive prosecution of domestic abuse cases and a restraining order program that confiscates guns.
But no program, Hermann said, could have saved Melody Dang and her sons, Steven and Jimmy. Investigators say the Dangs' killer was not someone in the family or even someone who knew them.
"Fortunately, it's something that we hardly ever see," Hermann said of the multiple murders. "Even the ones you read about tend to be family members."
The last triple murder in the county was in 1990, when Yoshio Morimoto of Beaverton killed his wife and two young children. Morimoto pleaded guilty during his 1992 trial and was sentenced to life in prison.
Charges were not filed in 2006's three police shootings, because the district attorney's office determined the shootings were justified.
Also, charges of manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide were not filed in the deaths of the four bicyclists killed by cars in 2006. Prosecutors and the grand jury determined the deaths were accidental, not criminal.
However, the district attorney's office charged six drivers with manslaughter in fatal crashes that killed their passengers or people in other vehicles. A jury found one guilty and two others pleaded guilty; trials are pending early in 2007 for the three remaining drivers.
Two more potential vehicular manslaughter cases are under district attorney review.
Here are the 11 Washington County homicides from 2006:
* Juan Humberto Rincon Cruz, 25, was shot to death March 25 in the parking lot of the Center Plaza Apartments in Beaverton. Police think the shots, which killed Rincon Cruz and wounded a friend after they left an apartment, were fired by people in a sport utility vehicle. Unsolved.
* Theodore Faulkner, 27, of Hillsboro was shot in the head May 27 by his friend, Dustin Eugene Ceballos, 30, of Banks, while the two sat in a parked car in Forest Grove. Police said both men were drunk and playing with a loaded gun. Ceballos pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and was sentenced Nov. 20 to five years' probation.
* Dulce Hernandez Onofre, 19 months, of Hillsboro died Aug. 2 after doctors at a Portland hospital declared her brain dead and took her off life support. Ramon Rodriguez Moreno, 27, of Hillsboro was arrested Aug. 1 after taking the child, who was his girlfriend's daughter, to the emergency room with a fractured skull. He is in the Washington County Jail on $250,000 bail, awaiting his May 15 trial for felony murder.
* William Johnson, 4 months, died of head injuries at a Portland hospital Sept. 9, two days after paramedics were called to his Cedar Mill home, when the baby wasn't breathing. The baby's father, Shawn Thornton Johnson Jr., 29, is in the Washington County Jail without bail on a charge of felony murder, awaiting his Sept. 7 trial.
* Lukus Glenn, 18, died Sept. 16 after being shot eight times by two Washington County sheriff's deputies outside his Tigard-area home. Glenn's family called 9-1-1 after the drunken teen, armed with a pocket knife, broke windows and made threats. When Glenn refused to put down the knife and moved toward the house, deputies fatally shot him. The district attorney's office upheld the deputies' actions and declined to send the case to a grand jury. The Glenn family and friends have called for a public hearing into the shooting.
* Neil Bruce Marcy, 45, of Forest Grove was shot to death Oct. 8 by officers from the Forest Grove and Cornelius police departments after he confronted them with a gun in each hand outside the College Place Apartments. The district attorney's office concluded the shooting was a suicide, because Marcy wanted police to kill him.
* Jordan Laird Case, 20, died Oct. 21 after being shot in the head by a Washington County sheriff's deputy. A Tualatin woman called 9-1-1 after awakening to find Case in her apartment. She and her 8-year-old daughter had to fight him off before police arrived. When Case reached inside the deputy's patrol car and tried to grab a locked gun, he was fatally shot. The woman told police that Case had said he was high on psychedelic mushrooms. The district attorney's office ruled the shooting justified.
* Melody Dang, 37, and her sons, Steven, 15, and Jimmy, 12, died of gunshot wounds Nov. 2 in their Bethany-area home. A month later, investigators arrested Ricardo Serrano, 31, of Aloha. Court documents indicate Serrano's wife was having an affair with Melody Dang's longtime live-in boyfriend, who was at work the night of the murders and found the bodies when he came home. Investigators say Serrano wanted the boyfriend to suffer and planned also to kill him. Serrano is charged with 10 counts of aggravated murder, and his death penalty trial is set for Feb. 12, 2008.
* Fleeta Sheely, 62, of Hillsboro had terminal cancer and was shot to death by her husband, Richard Sheely, 64, who then shot and killed himself in their Jackson Creek home. A co-worker of Fleeta Sheely's found their bodies in their bed on Nov. 15. Police said the door was open, and their wills and obituaries were laid out.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Police: Shot boy was suicidal
from The Oregonian, by Holly Danks and David R. Anderson
Washington County sheriff's investigators say a 14-year-old boy who was shot by a deputy had taken his father's high-velocity semiautomatic rifle out of an unlocked gun safe, loaded it with steel-cased, full metal jacket bullets and sped off in the family car late Monday after everyone else was in bed.
Authorities continued Tuesday to look into details surrounding the shooting of Brandon Scruggs, an eighth-grader at Conestoga Middle School in Beaverton. They said Scruggs was suicidal Monday night when he jumped from the car so quickly, holding the loaded rifle, that the deputy had little time to react.
Scruggs was in stable condition Tuesday at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, said Sgt. Michael O'Connell, a sheriff's detective who leads the county's Major Crimes Team.
He declined to say where Scruggs was hit or how many times, citing the investigation's preliminary status. Because of federal regulations, hospital representatives would not comment.
O'Connell said Scruggs told medical personnel he pointed his rifle at the deputy because "I wanted him to shoot me, I wanted to die."
O'Connell said Scruggs' parents --Glenn and Valerie Scruggs --"have no idea why he would do this, they're perplexed." He said they did not know Scruggs was missing Monday night or had taken their stick-shift Volkswagen.
Scruggs' parents could not be reached for comment Tuesday by The Oregonian.
Sheriff's Sgt. David Thompson said a deputy pulled over a car without taillights that was speeding west along Southwest Tualatin Valley Highway shortly after 11:30 p.m. Monday near Southeast 75th Avenue, in an unincorporated area near Hillsboro's southeast corner.
The deputy, whose name was not released, called for backup and told the driver to stay in the car, which had pulled about 30 feet onto 75th Avenue.
Instead, O'Connell said, the driver "came bolting out of that car with a rifle in his hands holding it in a threatening manner."
The deputy backed a few feet behind his patrol car and fired because he thought his life was in danger, O'Connell said.
"It all happened very quickly," he said.
The deputy, who was placed on paid administrative leave as is routine in officer-involved shootings, was to be interviewed today. Both the deputy and Scruggs were alone in their vehicles, investigators said.
Scruggs did not fire his rifle, but O'Connell said it was loaded with ammunition that would "easily pierce a police vest."
Thompson added that such a round fired from a high-velocity SKS "would go through a car."
O'Connell said Scruggs and his father had gone target shooting with the weapon in the past week.
"He knew it was more than just a pop gun," O'Connell said.
Scruggs is expected to face charges when he is released from the hospital.
Monday night's incident was the third in the past five months in which Washington County sheriff's deputies shot someone.
Lukus Glenn, 18, died Sept. 16 after two deputies shot him eight times when he threatened them, himself and his family with a knife outside his Tigard home. Jordan Case, 20, died Oct. 21 after a sheriff's deputy shot him when he broke into a neighbor's Tualatin apartment, then ran to a patrol car and tried to grab a gun.
Shocked neighbors on Southwest Bristlecone Way south of Beaverton and west of Tigard, said Scruggs was quiet, didn't cause trouble and seemed happy.
They said Scruggs often went hunting and fishing with his father. The boy had a hunting license; anyone younger than 18 has to take a safety class and carry a state Hunter Education certificate when hunting off family private property.
"He was always very nice, always very polite," said Lori Brush, who lives five houses from the Scruggses.
Conestoga Middle School students who live in Scruggs' neighborhood said the boy loves to skateboard and hopes to become a professional.
"He's cool with his friends," said Stilyan Slavov, a seventh-grader. "He's nice."
Scruggs didn't talk much of guns, his friends said, and didn't seem depressed.
"I didn't think Brandon would do anything like this," said Henry Taylor, a seventh-grader.
Anyone with information about the shooting or Scruggs is asked to call the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 503-846-2700.
"We are very interested in talking with anyone who might know why he was so troubled," O'Connell said. "We want to know what he was doing in Reedville and what was so bad about his life that he felt he needed police to shoot him."
Washington County sheriff's investigators say a 14-year-old boy who was shot by a deputy had taken his father's high-velocity semiautomatic rifle out of an unlocked gun safe, loaded it with steel-cased, full metal jacket bullets and sped off in the family car late Monday after everyone else was in bed.
Authorities continued Tuesday to look into details surrounding the shooting of Brandon Scruggs, an eighth-grader at Conestoga Middle School in Beaverton. They said Scruggs was suicidal Monday night when he jumped from the car so quickly, holding the loaded rifle, that the deputy had little time to react.
Scruggs was in stable condition Tuesday at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, said Sgt. Michael O'Connell, a sheriff's detective who leads the county's Major Crimes Team.
He declined to say where Scruggs was hit or how many times, citing the investigation's preliminary status. Because of federal regulations, hospital representatives would not comment.
O'Connell said Scruggs told medical personnel he pointed his rifle at the deputy because "I wanted him to shoot me, I wanted to die."
O'Connell said Scruggs' parents --Glenn and Valerie Scruggs --"have no idea why he would do this, they're perplexed." He said they did not know Scruggs was missing Monday night or had taken their stick-shift Volkswagen.
Scruggs' parents could not be reached for comment Tuesday by The Oregonian.
Sheriff's Sgt. David Thompson said a deputy pulled over a car without taillights that was speeding west along Southwest Tualatin Valley Highway shortly after 11:30 p.m. Monday near Southeast 75th Avenue, in an unincorporated area near Hillsboro's southeast corner.
The deputy, whose name was not released, called for backup and told the driver to stay in the car, which had pulled about 30 feet onto 75th Avenue.
Instead, O'Connell said, the driver "came bolting out of that car with a rifle in his hands holding it in a threatening manner."
The deputy backed a few feet behind his patrol car and fired because he thought his life was in danger, O'Connell said.
"It all happened very quickly," he said.
The deputy, who was placed on paid administrative leave as is routine in officer-involved shootings, was to be interviewed today. Both the deputy and Scruggs were alone in their vehicles, investigators said.
Scruggs did not fire his rifle, but O'Connell said it was loaded with ammunition that would "easily pierce a police vest."
Thompson added that such a round fired from a high-velocity SKS "would go through a car."
O'Connell said Scruggs and his father had gone target shooting with the weapon in the past week.
"He knew it was more than just a pop gun," O'Connell said.
Scruggs is expected to face charges when he is released from the hospital.
Monday night's incident was the third in the past five months in which Washington County sheriff's deputies shot someone.
Lukus Glenn, 18, died Sept. 16 after two deputies shot him eight times when he threatened them, himself and his family with a knife outside his Tigard home. Jordan Case, 20, died Oct. 21 after a sheriff's deputy shot him when he broke into a neighbor's Tualatin apartment, then ran to a patrol car and tried to grab a gun.
Shocked neighbors on Southwest Bristlecone Way south of Beaverton and west of Tigard, said Scruggs was quiet, didn't cause trouble and seemed happy.
They said Scruggs often went hunting and fishing with his father. The boy had a hunting license; anyone younger than 18 has to take a safety class and carry a state Hunter Education certificate when hunting off family private property.
"He was always very nice, always very polite," said Lori Brush, who lives five houses from the Scruggses.
Conestoga Middle School students who live in Scruggs' neighborhood said the boy loves to skateboard and hopes to become a professional.
"He's cool with his friends," said Stilyan Slavov, a seventh-grader. "He's nice."
Scruggs didn't talk much of guns, his friends said, and didn't seem depressed.
"I didn't think Brandon would do anything like this," said Henry Taylor, a seventh-grader.
Anyone with information about the shooting or Scruggs is asked to call the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 503-846-2700.
"We are very interested in talking with anyone who might know why he was so troubled," O'Connell said. "We want to know what he was doing in Reedville and what was so bad about his life that he felt he needed police to shoot him."
Thursday, December 28, 2006
2006: A year of growth and pains
from The Oregonian
SEPTEMBER
Washington County sheriff's deputies respond to a call for help in unincorporated Washington County, north of Tigard, after reports that a drunken teen armed with a pocket knife is breaking windows and threatening himself and others. Within about four minutes of the deputies' arrival, a Tigard police officer fires nonlethal beanbag rounds at 18-year-old Lukus Glenn. Then two sheriff's deputies shoot him to death. In October, the county district attorney's office upholds the officers' actions, declining to send the case to a grand jury.
SEPTEMBER
Washington County sheriff's deputies respond to a call for help in unincorporated Washington County, north of Tigard, after reports that a drunken teen armed with a pocket knife is breaking windows and threatening himself and others. Within about four minutes of the deputies' arrival, a Tigard police officer fires nonlethal beanbag rounds at 18-year-old Lukus Glenn. Then two sheriff's deputies shoot him to death. In October, the county district attorney's office upholds the officers' actions, declining to send the case to a grand jury.
2006: Highlights, lowlights and other Dubious Distinctions
from The Oregonian
Sweet, sad, big, small, infinite, fleeting. News in Washington County covered all the adjectives in 2006.
The year was as sweet as the 12-year-old Murrayhill ballplayers who ventured across the country and came oh-so-close to winning a world championship. And it was as sad as sheriff's deputies killing Lukus Glenn, an out-of-control teenager, outside his Tigard-area home.
A fatal plane crash jeopardized the future of the Hillsboro air show. Then last week, show organizers snagged the U.S. Navy Blue Angels for 2007.
In Beaverton, the conjunction of two small animals --a cat and an iguana --caused an apartment fire.
Some sagas seemed never ending: Nike versus Beaverton, county Fair Board versus fair boosters. Other stories were fleeting: A Hillsboro teenager got in trouble for pulling his socks up high.
And some stories are becoming all too familiar. Three of the county's young men died in military service in Iraq.
Here's our recap of the moments that made us smile, cringe or cry over the past year --with hopes that we'll see more of the first in 2007.
Boys of summer: Murrayhill Little League took fans on a wild ride when the 12- and 13-year-olds became the first Oregon team in 48 years to earn a trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. The team ended up in third place.
Top cops: The Beaverton Police Department was one of three winners worldwide of the Webber Seavey Award, recognized for its identity theft and fraud prevention program. The department shared the honor, sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and Motorola, with the District Police in Nalgonda, India, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Win some: Wal-Mart won approval from the Cornelius City Council to build a supercenter on North Adair Street.
Lose some: After a monthslong battle, Wal-Mart's plans to put a store in the Cedar Mill area ultimately were rejected by the Beaverton City Council.
Putting the "wall" in Wal-Mart: A Forest Grove official offended neighbors in Cornelius when he suggested building a 600-foot wall next to a proposed Wal-Mart to keep shoplifters and thieves out of his community. "The implication is people from Cornelius are going to be stealing things and running into Forest Grove," Cornelius planner Catherine Sidman huffed.
Good intentions, bad timeliness: New city manager David Waffle praised the Cornelius City Council in January for posting its newsletter on the Web in both English and Spanish. He noted, however, that the newsletter currently posted was a year old.
Best sense of humor: Waffle started a weekly online briefing he called "Hot Off the Griddle."
Oh, that trip to Hawaii: Sen. Ryan Deckert, D-Beaverton, and Sen. Bruce Starr and Rep. Derrick Kitts, both R-Hillsboro, were among legislators who got in hot water when it was revealed they violated state law by not reporting trips to Hawaii paid for by beer and wine distributors in 2002 and 2004.
It's not the Big Island, but . . . Rep. Mark Hass, D-Raleigh Hills, acknowledged that he failed to report a 2003 trip to Idaho paid for by Idaho Power Co.
Best proof history repeats itself: Al Young lost his May primary bid for Metro councilor after it came out that he owed the county nearly $13,000 in back taxes. Young, a former state representative from Hillsboro, got in trouble in 1989 for owing $25,000 in back taxes on some of the same property.
Dogs gone: Organizers of a dog show expected to draw 2,000 dogs and twice that many people pulled out of the Washington County Fair Complex after they found out the Oregon International Airshow was scheduled for the same July weekend at neighboring Hillsboro Airport.
A fair to forget: Opus Northwest dropped out of a deal to redevelop the county fairgrounds. Company officials said two years of community bickering about what should happen with the property made their job impossible.
Sir Lancelot to the rescue? A Renaissance festival company proposed a 20-year lease to put on a medieval fair, including jesters and jousters, at the fairgrounds. The deal could be worth $500,000 annually to the county.
Most animated undertaking: Nike founder Phil Knight announced plans to build a 30-acre campus in Tualatin to house his animation studio, Laika Entertainment.
In other film news: DVD rental company Netflix Inc. announced it would move its customer service operation from the Bay Area to Tanasbourne.
Best hero, confectionery division: Jake Stubbs, a Glencoe High senior, used the Heimlich maneuver to save a classmate choking on a Jolly Rancher lollipop.
Best heroes, fire division: Kevin O'Keeffe and Peter Bradshaw of Aloha were honored for saving a neighbor's life in an early morning fire. The men pounded on the front door and rescued the wheelchair-dependent resident, who was in bed, before firefighters arrived.
Best hero, primatologist division: Jane Goodall, the celebrity primate expert, named Washo Shadowhawk, a Beaverton teen, as one of her heroes for his volunteer work with Roots & Shoots and the Oregon Zoo.
The Crips, the Bloods and the Socks: Hillsboro school officials sent sophomore Luis Vargas home in October for pulling his socks to the knees, a look they say is sported by local gang members. "I don't dress like this all the time," Vargas said. "I wear nice shirts and pants. But when I wear shorts, I pull up my socks. That's just an outfit I have."
Who knew world records were like potato chips? Hillsboro set a new Guinness World Record in August for the most people wearing balloon hats at one location: 1,874. The milestone stirred hopes of fresh conquests. "We want to have more records in Guinness than any other city," said Mayor Tom Hughes, mentioning clown noses as one possibility.
High price of government screw-ups, Part I: The federal government agreed to pay Brandon Mayfield and his family $2 million for the emotional toll they suffered after the Aloha lawyer was wrongly jailed in connection with the deadly Madrid, Spain, train bombings of 2004.
High price of government screw-ups, Part II: Beaverton's legal bills approached $500,000 in its fight with Nike over public records related to annexation. The tab could grow considerably in January, depending how much of Nike's legal bills a Washington County judge orders the city to pay. The same judge ruled that city officials were in contempt of court for withholding records.
Tired of being like Mike: Allen Heckard, 51, of Northeast Portland filed suit in Washington County seeking more than $800 million from Michael Jordan and Nike founder Phil Knight. Heckard claimed his resemblance to the NBA star had denied him "the right to live a normal life." A few weeks later, Heckard dropped the suit.
The show must go on: A vintage British jet fighter crashed seconds after taking off from the Oregon International Airshow in July. The crash killed the pilot, destroyed one house and damaged three others near Hillsboro Airport. After months of debate, air show organizers vowed the show would return next summer and announced in December that the U.S. Navy Blue Angels would be the headliners.
Best real-life Mr. Chips: Intel donated nearly $207,000 to Washington County public schools to match volunteer hours its employees contributed. The company also donated 200 Gateway laptops valued at $350,000 to a pilot technology program at four schools, including Tom McCall Upper Elementary School in Forest Grove.
No velvet Elvis: Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette earned $165,002 when it auctioned a donated painting from its Hillsboro store. What was thought to be cheap yard-sale art turned out to be painted by Frank Weston Benson, a French-trained American impressionist.
Most valedictorians: Westview High School named every senior who earned a 4.0 grade-point average a valedictorian: 75 students shared the honor.
Most new combinations: Tigard High School had to change 2,000 locker combinations after a 17-year-old student hacked into the school's computer system and posted locker combinations online, along with teachers' home addresses, phone numbers and e-mail passwords.
Easing the road to college: In February, the Beaverton School District became the first in Oregon to pay for all its high-schoolers to take ACT exams, which most colleges and universities accept for admission. Nearly 9,000 students took the tests.
Easing the road to, um, Wilsonville: Construction started in October on a 14.7-mile commuter rail line between Beaverton and Wilsonville.
Most generous: Voters in the November election agreed to open their wallets, passing bond measures in the Beaverton and Hillsboro school districts, as well as county levies to pay for public safety and libraries.
Worst news for homeowners: Residents of three Cedar Hills manufactured home parks, totaling 218 spaces, joined mobile home owners throughout the county in finding out they would lose their spaces in the next year. Development pressure makes the land more valuable for other uses, but it's often impossible to find new sites for older homes.
Little people, big audience: TLC, The Learning Channel, made stars of Helvetia residents Matt and Amy Roloff and their four children in a cable reality show called "Little People, Big World." By the end of the year, more than 1.6 million viewers were tuning in to watch the adventures of the family that includes three members who have dwarfism.
Little people, big accident: A pumpkin-chunkin' event turned dangerous for the Roloffs when a trebuchet, a catapultlike machine used to launch pumpkins, injured their 9-year-old son and the man who helped build the device.
Worst dating strategy: An Aloha woman was sentenced to probation and community service after she called 9-1-1, wanting the name of the deputy who had knocked on her door after neighbors complained her music was too loud. The 45-year-old woman told the emergency dispatcher the deputy was "the cutest cop I've seen in God knows how long." The deputy returned and arrested her for improper use of the 9-1-1 emergency system.
Worst spurned lover: Albertson's managers asked a customer to quit coming to the Peterkort store after his attentions and love letters made a clerk uncomfortable. The thwarted Romeo responded by slashing tires on 56 cars in the parking lot.
Sweet, sad, big, small, infinite, fleeting. News in Washington County covered all the adjectives in 2006.
The year was as sweet as the 12-year-old Murrayhill ballplayers who ventured across the country and came oh-so-close to winning a world championship. And it was as sad as sheriff's deputies killing Lukus Glenn, an out-of-control teenager, outside his Tigard-area home.
A fatal plane crash jeopardized the future of the Hillsboro air show. Then last week, show organizers snagged the U.S. Navy Blue Angels for 2007.
In Beaverton, the conjunction of two small animals --a cat and an iguana --caused an apartment fire.
Some sagas seemed never ending: Nike versus Beaverton, county Fair Board versus fair boosters. Other stories were fleeting: A Hillsboro teenager got in trouble for pulling his socks up high.
And some stories are becoming all too familiar. Three of the county's young men died in military service in Iraq.
Here's our recap of the moments that made us smile, cringe or cry over the past year --with hopes that we'll see more of the first in 2007.
Boys of summer: Murrayhill Little League took fans on a wild ride when the 12- and 13-year-olds became the first Oregon team in 48 years to earn a trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. The team ended up in third place.
Top cops: The Beaverton Police Department was one of three winners worldwide of the Webber Seavey Award, recognized for its identity theft and fraud prevention program. The department shared the honor, sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and Motorola, with the District Police in Nalgonda, India, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Win some: Wal-Mart won approval from the Cornelius City Council to build a supercenter on North Adair Street.
Lose some: After a monthslong battle, Wal-Mart's plans to put a store in the Cedar Mill area ultimately were rejected by the Beaverton City Council.
Putting the "wall" in Wal-Mart: A Forest Grove official offended neighbors in Cornelius when he suggested building a 600-foot wall next to a proposed Wal-Mart to keep shoplifters and thieves out of his community. "The implication is people from Cornelius are going to be stealing things and running into Forest Grove," Cornelius planner Catherine Sidman huffed.
Good intentions, bad timeliness: New city manager David Waffle praised the Cornelius City Council in January for posting its newsletter on the Web in both English and Spanish. He noted, however, that the newsletter currently posted was a year old.
Best sense of humor: Waffle started a weekly online briefing he called "Hot Off the Griddle."
Oh, that trip to Hawaii: Sen. Ryan Deckert, D-Beaverton, and Sen. Bruce Starr and Rep. Derrick Kitts, both R-Hillsboro, were among legislators who got in hot water when it was revealed they violated state law by not reporting trips to Hawaii paid for by beer and wine distributors in 2002 and 2004.
It's not the Big Island, but . . . Rep. Mark Hass, D-Raleigh Hills, acknowledged that he failed to report a 2003 trip to Idaho paid for by Idaho Power Co.
Best proof history repeats itself: Al Young lost his May primary bid for Metro councilor after it came out that he owed the county nearly $13,000 in back taxes. Young, a former state representative from Hillsboro, got in trouble in 1989 for owing $25,000 in back taxes on some of the same property.
Dogs gone: Organizers of a dog show expected to draw 2,000 dogs and twice that many people pulled out of the Washington County Fair Complex after they found out the Oregon International Airshow was scheduled for the same July weekend at neighboring Hillsboro Airport.
A fair to forget: Opus Northwest dropped out of a deal to redevelop the county fairgrounds. Company officials said two years of community bickering about what should happen with the property made their job impossible.
Sir Lancelot to the rescue? A Renaissance festival company proposed a 20-year lease to put on a medieval fair, including jesters and jousters, at the fairgrounds. The deal could be worth $500,000 annually to the county.
Most animated undertaking: Nike founder Phil Knight announced plans to build a 30-acre campus in Tualatin to house his animation studio, Laika Entertainment.
In other film news: DVD rental company Netflix Inc. announced it would move its customer service operation from the Bay Area to Tanasbourne.
Best hero, confectionery division: Jake Stubbs, a Glencoe High senior, used the Heimlich maneuver to save a classmate choking on a Jolly Rancher lollipop.
Best heroes, fire division: Kevin O'Keeffe and Peter Bradshaw of Aloha were honored for saving a neighbor's life in an early morning fire. The men pounded on the front door and rescued the wheelchair-dependent resident, who was in bed, before firefighters arrived.
Best hero, primatologist division: Jane Goodall, the celebrity primate expert, named Washo Shadowhawk, a Beaverton teen, as one of her heroes for his volunteer work with Roots & Shoots and the Oregon Zoo.
The Crips, the Bloods and the Socks: Hillsboro school officials sent sophomore Luis Vargas home in October for pulling his socks to the knees, a look they say is sported by local gang members. "I don't dress like this all the time," Vargas said. "I wear nice shirts and pants. But when I wear shorts, I pull up my socks. That's just an outfit I have."
Who knew world records were like potato chips? Hillsboro set a new Guinness World Record in August for the most people wearing balloon hats at one location: 1,874. The milestone stirred hopes of fresh conquests. "We want to have more records in Guinness than any other city," said Mayor Tom Hughes, mentioning clown noses as one possibility.
High price of government screw-ups, Part I: The federal government agreed to pay Brandon Mayfield and his family $2 million for the emotional toll they suffered after the Aloha lawyer was wrongly jailed in connection with the deadly Madrid, Spain, train bombings of 2004.
High price of government screw-ups, Part II: Beaverton's legal bills approached $500,000 in its fight with Nike over public records related to annexation. The tab could grow considerably in January, depending how much of Nike's legal bills a Washington County judge orders the city to pay. The same judge ruled that city officials were in contempt of court for withholding records.
Tired of being like Mike: Allen Heckard, 51, of Northeast Portland filed suit in Washington County seeking more than $800 million from Michael Jordan and Nike founder Phil Knight. Heckard claimed his resemblance to the NBA star had denied him "the right to live a normal life." A few weeks later, Heckard dropped the suit.
The show must go on: A vintage British jet fighter crashed seconds after taking off from the Oregon International Airshow in July. The crash killed the pilot, destroyed one house and damaged three others near Hillsboro Airport. After months of debate, air show organizers vowed the show would return next summer and announced in December that the U.S. Navy Blue Angels would be the headliners.
Best real-life Mr. Chips: Intel donated nearly $207,000 to Washington County public schools to match volunteer hours its employees contributed. The company also donated 200 Gateway laptops valued at $350,000 to a pilot technology program at four schools, including Tom McCall Upper Elementary School in Forest Grove.
No velvet Elvis: Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette earned $165,002 when it auctioned a donated painting from its Hillsboro store. What was thought to be cheap yard-sale art turned out to be painted by Frank Weston Benson, a French-trained American impressionist.
Most valedictorians: Westview High School named every senior who earned a 4.0 grade-point average a valedictorian: 75 students shared the honor.
Most new combinations: Tigard High School had to change 2,000 locker combinations after a 17-year-old student hacked into the school's computer system and posted locker combinations online, along with teachers' home addresses, phone numbers and e-mail passwords.
Easing the road to college: In February, the Beaverton School District became the first in Oregon to pay for all its high-schoolers to take ACT exams, which most colleges and universities accept for admission. Nearly 9,000 students took the tests.
Easing the road to, um, Wilsonville: Construction started in October on a 14.7-mile commuter rail line between Beaverton and Wilsonville.
Most generous: Voters in the November election agreed to open their wallets, passing bond measures in the Beaverton and Hillsboro school districts, as well as county levies to pay for public safety and libraries.
Worst news for homeowners: Residents of three Cedar Hills manufactured home parks, totaling 218 spaces, joined mobile home owners throughout the county in finding out they would lose their spaces in the next year. Development pressure makes the land more valuable for other uses, but it's often impossible to find new sites for older homes.
Little people, big audience: TLC, The Learning Channel, made stars of Helvetia residents Matt and Amy Roloff and their four children in a cable reality show called "Little People, Big World." By the end of the year, more than 1.6 million viewers were tuning in to watch the adventures of the family that includes three members who have dwarfism.
Little people, big accident: A pumpkin-chunkin' event turned dangerous for the Roloffs when a trebuchet, a catapultlike machine used to launch pumpkins, injured their 9-year-old son and the man who helped build the device.
Worst dating strategy: An Aloha woman was sentenced to probation and community service after she called 9-1-1, wanting the name of the deputy who had knocked on her door after neighbors complained her music was too loud. The 45-year-old woman told the emergency dispatcher the deputy was "the cutest cop I've seen in God knows how long." The deputy returned and arrested her for improper use of the 9-1-1 emergency system.
Worst spurned lover: Albertson's managers asked a customer to quit coming to the Peterkort store after his attentions and love letters made a clerk uncomfortable. The thwarted Romeo responded by slashing tires on 56 cars in the parking lot.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Hearing petition surprises Tigard officials
from The Oregonian, by Kate Taylor
SUMMARY: Lukus Glenn Supporters of the teen who was shot by officers seek a public hearing
Tigard City officials on Wednesday are baffled by a 1,060-signature petition calling for a public hearing on the police-shooting death of Lukus Glenn. The officials received the petition at Tuesday's City Council meeting.
An estimated 50 family members, friends and classmates of the 18-year-old former Tigard High School football star packed the council meeting. During public commentary, they expressed their concern over police actions in the Sept. 16 death.
"We are appalled by the response of police during this particular situation," read one of the petitions, signed by nine students of Wilson High School. "We feel that other actions could have been taken which could have prevented this wrongful death. This needless loss of life should not be tolerated or overlooked."
Washington County sheriff's deputies responded to the Glenn home in unincorporated Washington County north of Tigard after reports that the drunken teen armed with a pocket knife was breaking windows and threatening himself and others. Within about four minutes, a Tigard police officer fired non-lethal beanbag rounds at Glenn and two sheriff's deputies shot him to death.
On Wednesday, Mayor Craig Dirksen said councilors had not talked about the petition but he doesn't believe it's the city's place to take a stand.
"I guess I'm glad that the people felt free to come and talk to us, that they would consider it an avenue," Dirksen said. "I don't know that it resulted in any satisfaction on their part."
Dirksen said that the shooting happened outside city limits and that Tigard police were not the primary agency involved.
Members of Lukus Glenn's family could not be reached Wednesday for comment. But Larry Peterson, a Lake Oswego attorney representing the family, remained critical of Tigard, saying that the officials could help see that justice is done.
"The response (at Tuesday's meeting) was 'Yeah, we'll look at it again.' It was real namby-pamby," Peterson said. The city is shirking responsibility, he said, because a Tigard police officer was involved in the shooting, the city funds and oversees its police and because the city is charged with answering questions asked by its citizens.
In October, the district attorney's office upheld the officers' actions and declined to send the case to a grand jury. The Glenn family asked Tigard and the Washington County Board of Commissioners to hold a public inquest into the shooting, but the county commissioners refused.
Thursday, November 2, 2006
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - 11/2/2006
Who furnished the alcohol?
Everyone is saddened for all involved in the tragic loss of 18-year-old Lukus Glenn. I try not to pass judgment on anyone involved because I wasn't there.
However, the piece by the Glenns' attorney, Lawrence K. Peterson ("The public deserves more than silence," Oct. 31), bashing Washington County for its silence and not "focusing on the larger picture" was the last straw for me.
Glenn's drunken state was the major contributing factor in his death, and no less so than if he had died wrapping his car around a utility pole. His blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit for an adult, which he was not. There is no legal limit for a teenager.
If the Glenns and their attorney truly want to focus on the "larger picture," then they ought to be demanding to know who furnished the alcohol Lukus drank. The event that unfolded in the Glenns' front yard was the tragic consequence of someone else's illegal and irresponsible actions.
MARY BETH BUFFUM
Northwest Portland
Everyone is saddened for all involved in the tragic loss of 18-year-old Lukus Glenn. I try not to pass judgment on anyone involved because I wasn't there.
However, the piece by the Glenns' attorney, Lawrence K. Peterson ("The public deserves more than silence," Oct. 31), bashing Washington County for its silence and not "focusing on the larger picture" was the last straw for me.
Glenn's drunken state was the major contributing factor in his death, and no less so than if he had died wrapping his car around a utility pole. His blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit for an adult, which he was not. There is no legal limit for a teenager.
If the Glenns and their attorney truly want to focus on the "larger picture," then they ought to be demanding to know who furnished the alcohol Lukus drank. The event that unfolded in the Glenns' front yard was the tragic consequence of someone else's illegal and irresponsible actions.
MARY BETH BUFFUM
Northwest Portland
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
