Despite DOJ Intervention, Portland Police are Still Killing People in Mental Health Crisis

"A medical examiner's report concluded Johnson 52, died of a prone-restraint-induced cardiac arrest, with methamphetamine use being a "contributing factor." Prone restraint refers to the face-down position officers kept Johnson in while attempting to handcuff him in his apartment. It can restrict breathing and can also lead to metabolic acidosis. Across the United States, it's been linked with several other in-custody deaths and many police agencies have since stopped using it."

"She said after her brother's death, Portland Police Chief Bob Day called the family and "expressed his condolences." In the months that followed, they released information to Johnson's family in small doses. She awaited the outcome of the grand jury review, but deep down, she knew better than to expect the officers to be charged for her brother's death."

""There isn't going to be any accountability," Ms. Johnson told the Mercury in October before the grand jury had convened, citing a criminal justice system that rarely finds officers charged following fatal interactions with the public, especially when the decedents are Black men like Damon Johnson. "They've lost the humane side of this situation altogether," she said after the grand jury decision. "We were given some spiel about how they're trained to deal with people with mental health issues. I don't really believe it.""

Damon Lamarr Johnson died in June after being restrained by Portland police for several minutes while officers attempted to take him into custody for a behavioral health evaluation. A medical examiner concluded the 52-year-old died of a prone-restraint-induced cardiac arrest, with methamphetamine use as a contributing factor. Prone restraint is a face-down position that can restrict breathing and cause metabolic acidosis and has been linked to other in-custody deaths, prompting many agencies to stop using it. The death was ruled a homicide, and a grand jury later declined to indict the three involved officers. Family members expressed disappointment and questioned Portland Police Bureau policies regarding behavioral health crises.

Read at Portland Mercury