Irish family calls Ore. shooting excessive force

Oregonlive.com
By BRAD CAIN
The Associated Press

 

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Andrew Hanlon had an American dream straight out of Kerouac or Steinbeck — hitting the road to see the country.

But the 20-year-old Irish national never got the chance. For reasons yet to be explained, a small-town Oregon police officer shot him dead last week, and now his mother has come to America to bring his corpse back to Ireland.

Hanlon’s mother, Dorothea Carroll, was in the U.S. Friday looking for answers and said her son’s death appeared to be a case of "unreasonable and excessive force" by a police officer.

The case has generated wide publicity and outrage in Ireland, where police shootings are rare. Hanlon was shot seven times in the abdomen, arm, thigh and back, according to a statement from his family.

Carroll was hoping that Friday’s face-to-face meeting with investigators would yield more details about the night last week that Silverton police officer Tony Gonzalez shot her son.

The meeting lasted two hours, and afterward a law firm issued a statement on behalf of his family. It expressed hope prosecutors would pursue the case "with integrity and diligence."

"We trust that this process will result in justice and accountability for what seems to us to be a clear case of unreasonable and excessive force," the statement said. "While we mourn our loss and await the outcome of the process, we ask for respect and privacy, and will be referring all media inquiries to our lawyers."

Deputy Marion County District Attorney Matthew Kemmy declined to discuss what happened at the meeting but said he expects the case to go to a county grand jury within two weeks.

According to a family member, Carroll wasn’t granting interviews after Friday’s meeting.

After the June 30 shooting, Carroll went on Irish radio to criticize police and prosecutors for not providing her with information about the shooting of her son. The death has shaken her family, Carroll said.

"No mother and no family expects to lose a 20-year-old son," she said. "And to lose a son is one thing, but to lose a child, literally to be blasted away, to be shot to death, I mean my God, it’s a violent end. It’s a violent end."

Hanlon had been visiting the United States for the past year and lived in Silverton during his stay.

Hanlon was described by his family as mentally ill. He was killed when Gonzalez responded to a report of a burglary.

Hanlon’s sister and brother-in-law live in Silverton. They say Hanlon was in the habit of banging on their door when he wanted a place to stay the night, and he may have just gotten confused and knocked on the wrong door.

Earlier this week, the Silverton Police Officers’ Association created a stir when it issued a statement saying that the group thought the actions by Gonzalez were justified.

"As members of the community we serve, we agree that the truth of this recent event should be known by all as quickly as is possible," said Rich Budry, a Silverton detective. "We strongly believe the district attorney’s office and grand jury investigation will prove the use of force was justified under the statute."

In response, the Marion County district attorney’s office publicly chastised the police association, saying the group should keep quiet until an investigation into an officer-involved shooting is complete.

The district attorney’s office said the association’s comments could mislead the public into thinking that the investigation of the shooting will be an in-house affair.

A multi-agency team is investigating the shooting, and its results will be reviewed by the district attorney’s office and most likely will go before a grand jury.

"To be clear, no member of the Silverton Police Department is involved in the investigation or has access to the evidence," the district attorney’s office said.

Gonzalez, 35, has been placed on administrative leave since the incident.

Posted on Monday, July 14th, 2008, in Our Work In the News |
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