PORTLAND — A grand jury has declined to charge a police officer who shot and killed a man in a southeast Portland park in April.
The Multnomah County district attorney’s office made the announcement Friday after the grand jury found Portland Police Officer Zachary DeLong’s use of force against 46-year-old Robert Delgado “was not criminal under Oregon law,” KOIN-TV reported.
DeLong shot and killed Delgado on April 16 after he and other officers responded to a caller saying a man with a gun was in Lents Park.
Authorities said witness video presented to the grand jury showed officers standing behind trees telling Delgado, who was about 90 feet away appearing agitated and yelling, to put his hands up and get on the ground.
Investigators said Delgado produced what looked like a gun and pointed it at officers, which is when DeLong fired at Delgado, who died at the scene. Authorities later said it was a replica handgun.
The grand jury case was presented by two Multnomah County district attorneys and two assistant attorneys general appointed by the Oregon Department of Justice.
In a statement, Juan Chavez, Oregon Justice Resource Center’s director and attorney for the center’s Civil Rights Project, called for an independent body to be established to investigate cases like that of Delgado that is not closely tied to Portland police or any other law enforcement agency in Oregon.