PORTLAND, Ore. — Gresham Police Ofc. James Doyle will not face criminal charges for shooting and killing 49-year-old Israel Berry, a Multnomah County grand jury determined.
Newly released body cam footage from the Gresham Police Department shows Berry drove his car at Doyle before the officer drew his weapon and fired his gun, killing Berry. The entire sequence occurred in a matter of seconds.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced the grand jury's decision in a press release on Friday.
The decision comes more than a year after Berry was killed. Until now, few details had been released since the incident in Southeast Portland on May 31, 2020.
Gresham police provided an account of what happened on the night of the incident in a video released Friday.
Shortly after 8 p.m., Israel Berry called the nonemergency line and requested police assistance, alleging that a man had stolen his phone and was holding it inside his house.
Berry was told police were very busy due to protests around the city and may not be at the scene for a long time. Berry then waited outside the house.
About 90 minutes later, the man who Berry said had stolen his phone called 911 reporting Berry was outside his house threatening him. Security footage from a neighbor's camera shows a man identified as Berry throwing trash on someone's lawn.
Around 9:30 p.m., Gresham Police Ofc. James Doyle and multiple Portland police officers responded to a call of a disturbance in the 12400 block of Southeast Kelly Street in Portland.
While officers were on their way to the scene, the same security footage shows a confrontation between Berry and an unidentified man. In the video, Berry shoves a man to the ground. Shortly after Berry is seen getting into his car and driving erratically.
When officers arrived at the scene, body cam footage shows Berry accelerate in his car toward officers before Doyle shoots and kills Berry.
Israel Berry was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ofc. Doyle has been on paid administrative leave since the incident over a year ago.
In March 2021, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt appointed Samuel Kauffman, a criminal defense attorney with more than 25 years of experience, as an outside co-lead prosecutor on the case — a step rarely, if ever taken, according to Schmidt.
“In this case, after considering all evidence, the grand jury determined that Officer Doyle’s conduct was lawful under the circumstances. We respect that decision, and thank the jury for its careful and thorough deliberation,” said Schmidt.