A Multnomah County grand jury has cleared two Portland Police officers who shot and killed a 27-year-old black man on Sept. 30, determining the officers' use of deadly force was a "lawful act of self-defense."
Sgt. Garry Britt and Officer Jeffery Livingston will not face criminal charges for the fatal shooting of Patrick Kimmons, who the two officers shot after responding to a fight.
Police say Kimmons fired five shots in the early-morning fight, injuring two people. They went to a local hospital with “serious, but not life-threatening injuries,” according to police. Officers and witnesses say Kimmons was shot after running toward officers with a revolver in his hand. Witnesses say officers yelled commands at Kimmons as they shot. Police fired 12 rounds and say they recovered a gun near Kimmons.
That narrative, contained in police reports released Wednesday, contradicts Kimmons' family's assertion that he was shot in the back up to 15 times. At least one witness said Kimmons' back was toward officers at one point, and that a firearm was "clearly visible" in Kimmons' right hand.
He said it appeared to him that Kimmons "was going to turn around and start shooting at the officers" before he was shot. According to investigative documents, Kimmons sustained bullet wounds in the upper right chest and his left leg.
The county medical examiner found that Kimmons was shot nine times. Bullets struck him in the buttocks, legs, groin and chest. The report indicates that some shots hit him from behind, while others struck Kimmons from the front or side.
Medical staff found that Kimmons had alcohol, ketamine and trazadone — an antidepressant drug — in his system when he died.
Two parking-lot security camera videos released Wednesday show a man running away from the fight and toward two officers before darting between two cars; it's not clear from the videos whether Kimmons pointed his gun at Britt and Livingston or what position he was in when police fired. PPB officers do not wear body cameras.
Warning: The video below contains graphic images.
The grand jury announcement was made after a two-day hearing. Police officers have been cleared of criminal charges in at least three of the most recent fatal shootings by Portland Police officers.
Officers who arrived to the scene later identified Kimmons as a well-known Rollin 60's Crips gang member. Letha Winston, Kimmons' mother, told OPB days after the shooting that her son was working to distance himself from gang activity to focus on his family.
Britt is a 10-year veteran of the force and was involved in a 2012 shooting that was ultimately determined justified. Earlier this year, Britt was among the officers who had contact with John Elifritz, a man killed by Portland police at a homeless shelter in April. Britt did not fire his weapon in that case.
Livingston has been with the Portland Police for a year and a half. He was previously a corrections officer and worked with the Coast Guard, according to Patch.
