The sister of a young Irishman killed by a policeman in the US, said today her family had doubts about the officer’s account of the shooting.
A US grand jury today ruled that the police officer acted correctly when he shot and killed an unarmed Irish man in Silverton, Oregon, whose family says was mentally ill.
Officer Tony Gonzalez fired at 20-year-old Andrew Hanlon seven times and hit him with five shots.
Melanie Heise said her brother had no history of violence and had never used a weapon in his life.
Ms Heise held a news conference at her lawyer's office in Portland, Oregan to raise doubts about the credibility of Officer Gonzalez and his evidence to the grand jury that cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Ms Heise also criticised US police for the way they handle confrontations with the mentally ill, saying Oregon had a poor track record, including a number of deaths.
A statement from the District Attorney’s Office said Mr Gonzalez shot Mr Hanlon while retreating, and a witness told authorities that Mr Hanlon had been trying to strike the officer while ignoring commands to stop.
Thirteen witnesses - four police and nine civilians - testified before the grand jury in Portland, said lawyers Matthew Kemmy and Douglas Hanson. Mr Gonzalez was not among them, but a videotape of his interview with detectives was shown to the jurors, who were unanimous in their finding that the shooting was legally justified.
Steve Crew, a lawyer representing Mr Hanlon's family, told The Oregoniannewspaper that the ruling was "disappointing and a bit of a surprise for the family."
Mr Hanlon’s sister and brother-in-law live in Silverton, a small town 45 miles south of Portland. He came to the US from Dublin last summer.
Investigators had released little information about Mr Hanlon's death. The deputy district attorneys said in a statement that they would provide many details “in an effort to combat the accusations of a conspiracy or a cover-up that have arisen.”
They said it all began when a woman, Shannon Kelley heard someone knocking on her front door late at night and saw a man, later identified as Mr Hanlon, "acting strangely".
Ms Kelley says she asked him to leave but that Mr Hanlon demanded to enter. Ms Kelley said Mr Hanlon claimed he had a sword and yelled such phrases as: “Thou shalt let me in!”
Though Mr Hanlon didn’t have a sword, he gestured as if he had one, she said.
Ms Kelley, who phoned police, said Mr Hanlon howled at the moon and at one point screamed that he was the “angel of death.”
Ms Kelley said she and her parents visiting from Montana had to put their bodies against the door to stop Mr Hanlon from breaking it down.
After repeatedly hurling his body against the door, Mr Hanlon is said to have ran barefoot towards a nearby street, where he ran into Officer Gonzalez.
The officer told investigators he heard the sound of shattering glass and thought Mr Hanlon might be brandishing a broken bottle.
Mr Kemmy and Mr Hanson noted that investigators think Mr Hanlon merely bumped into a recycling bin.
Officer Gonzalez said he ordered Mr Hanlon to show his hands and get down on the ground. After repeating the command, Mr Hanlon appeared ready to comply, the policeman said.
But instead he leapt at the officer, "kicking and screaming", said Officer Gonzalez who then stepped back but could not get more than five feet away. He started firing.
A witness who happened to be driving past backed the officer’s story.
Mr Gonzalez (35) is in jail on an unrelated matter. A woman and her daughter have accused the officer of sexually abusing the girl several times, including at least once after the Hanlon shooting.
Agencies