SALEM, Ore. — A Marion County grand jury found that three law enforcement officers were "justified and lawful" for their roles in a deadly shooting in a Southeast Salem residential area in November, the county district attorney's office announced Thursday.
The Marion County District Attorney’s office released videos showing different angles of the incident, which took place Nov. 24. Two perspectives came from Oregon State Police trooper Andrew Tuttle and Salem Police Department Officer John Parmer's bodycams. Deputies with the Marion County Sheriff's Office don't wear bodycams, therefore no body camera video is available for MCSO's Deputy Caleb Mott, the other officer who fired his weapon.
Ring camera footage from the home of the suspect, 32-year-old Justin Lee Jordan, shows that Jordan spent several minutes hitting and kicking his front door and staring into the camera. He appears to be holding a phone in his hand and places two fingers together, emulating a gun, while placing his fingers to his right temple. He then moves his two fingers to his throat to simulate cutting his throat, moving his two fingers to his temple.
In the video, Jordan heads outside his home near Arabian Avenue Southeast and Sorrel Court Southeast, pacing and throwing items around his trash can. He then goes back inside his home and comes out with what appears to be two guns. At one point, a neighbor witnessed him putting a gun to his head and threatening to "Kill everyone around him," prompting the neighbor to call 911.
The Marion County District Attorney's office said Jordan pointed the gun at neighbors and fired it multiple times, at one point hitting a woman's car while she was inside.
Police were on scene for just a few minutes trying to get Jordan to drop the gun. Jordan did not comply with demands from officers including “Drop the gun," “We do not want to hurt you,” “Get on the ground” and “We do not want to shoot you.” He could be heard yelling "Kill me" in response.
Jordan raised his right arm and pointed one of the two pistols at the officers. The three officers Tuttle, Parmer and Mott fired their guns, hitting Jordan three times in different areas of his body with two graze wounds. He died at the scene.
The finding of the autopsy report conducted by State Deputy Medical Examiner Ariel Viramontes on Nov. 25 found that Jordan's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso that went through the chest, resulting in injury to both lungs and his heart.
According to the findings of the Marion County District Attorney’s office, Jordan fired his gun four times during the entire incident. He pointed his gun at neighbors in the area at least five different times and law enforcement on four separate occasions.
Officers fired four rounds at Jordan: Palmer fired two rounds, Tuttle fired one round, and Mott fired two rounds. Other than Jordan, no one was injured during the incident.
Jordan had no prior criminal record.
