Parents' lawyer challenges DA's view

from The Oregonian, by Kate Taylor


SUMMARY: Glenn death The attorney says deputies were too quick to fire at the Tigard-area youth
LAKE OSWEGO -- An attorney for the parents of a Tigard-area youth shot dead last month by Washington County sheriff's deputies said on Thursday the district attorney's review of the shooting was flawed.

In particular, Lake Oswego attorney Larry Peterson said deputies were too quick to fire at Lukus Glenn, 18, who had just been shot with beanbag rounds. He also said that Glenn was not running away, but instead reeling from the impact of the beanbag rounds when the deputies fired.

Police on Sept. 16 shot Glenn after his mother called 9-1-1, saying he was drunk, out of control and threatening the family. Deputies Mikhail Gerba and Tim Mateski and Tigard police officer Andrew Pastore confronted Glenn outside the home, and when he refused to drop a pocket knife, the officer shot him with bean bags and then the two deputies opened fire as Glenn moved toward the house.

Hope Glenn on Thursday blinked back tears as Peterson played the 9-1-1 tape of her son's shooting to a roomful of reporters in the attorney's office.

Holding up his fingers as the sound of beanbag rounds and then live rounds filled the room, Peterson told reporters to note that there was no gap between the beanbag shots and the bullets fired by the two sheriff's deputies.

"Where is the time gap?" Peterson asked. "Where is the time gap? There is no time gap. Citizens of Washington County should be able to rely on their 9-1-1 system and the law enforcement community."

In post-shooting interviews, Peterson said, police gave conflicting accounts of how much time elapsed. Peterson emphasized Gerba's version that Lukus Glenn exchanged words with his father, grandmother and police between the beanbag rounds and before the shots were fired. Peterson compared that with Pastore's comments that three to five seconds passed after he shot beanbag volleys and the deputies finished firing their guns.

Peterson also said he believed that --counter to what police have said in interviews --Glenn never ran toward his house, but was propelled by bean bags.

Sitting with her husband, Brad Glenn, Hope Glenn continued to press for a public inquest for the sake of the lessons the case holds.

"I don't think it should happen to anybody else," she said. "It didn't have to happen that way."

The shooting has raised questions in the community about police use of deadly force.

"We are training officers to be very active in the use of firearms as a first resort and certainly not as a last resort," Peterson said. "There are alternatives, and they should be reviewed and pursued."

Last week, Deputy District Attorney Rob Bletko decided not to send the case to a grand jury because, he said, he didn't find criminal misconduct in police actions.

Thursday, Peterson said Bletko's analysis was based on a flawed investigation.

But on Thursday, Bletko said a different timeline of shots fired would not have altered his decision.

"If (Peterson) thinks the shots are closer together than the tape clearly indicates . . . that doesn't affect my decision," Bletko said. "It happened quickly. It doesn't take long to turn and move in a particular direction. But that doesn't change my decision."

At the news conference, Peterson --who wrote a letter to the Washington County Board of Commissioners and the city of Tigard Oct. 5 requesting a public inquest --criticized officials of those agencies for their silence.

"The legal counsel is reviewing the situation . . ., said Washington County Chairman Tom Brian. "The board is in limbo waiting and really can't comment further."

Tigard Mayor Craig Dirksen said Thursday afternoon that he had received Peterson's letter, but that he and members of the City Council didn't feel it was appropriate to respond.

"I guess I don't feel it's our place to do that. It really involves the Washington County Sheriff's Department and they need to be the ones to respond," Dirksen said. "If a decision was made to do an inquest, though, we would, of course, cooperate."