Thread: Relatives : Irish citizen shot multiple times

Jul 4, 12:04 AM EDT


Relatives: Irish citizen shot multiple times





SILVERTON, Ore. (AP) -- The family of an Irish citizen shot by a policeman here viewed the body Thursday and say they believe he was shot multiple times.

The sister and brother-in-law of Andrew James Hanlon saw Hanlon's body for the first time.

"It offered some closure to the ongoing grieving process, but it was definitely very upsetting to both of us," Nathan Heise said Thursday.

Heise said it appeared Hanlon had two gunshot wounds to his left arm, three wounds to his abdomen, one on his thigh and one in the back of his shoulder. "It was definitely not grouped in one area," he said.

News of the shooting in this quiet town in the heart of the Willamette Valley agricultural area is causing reverberations in Ireland.

The mother of the slain man went on the radio in Ireland Thursday to criticize police and prosecutors for failing to provide her with information.

"We're not getting any answers because they're closing ranks on us," Dorothea Carroll said in an interview Thursday with RT Radio One's Liveline in Dublin.

"As his mom, I'm being kept out of the loop. Nobody's telling me anything."

Heise said Carroll is expected to arrive in Oregon within the next few days, as are Irish journalists.

Irish television, radio and newspapers began peppering officials here with questions via telephone on Thursday.

The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Michel Martin, has contacted Marion County prosecutors extending his condolences to Hanlon's family.

Hanlon was shot and killed late Monday evening by Officer Tony Gonzalez, who was responding to a reported burglary in progress.

Gonzalez is on administrative leave during the multi-agency investigation, which is routine in officer-involved shootings.

Marion County District Attorney Walt Beglau said no information will be released until the investigation is complete.

Beglau said he has been in touch with the Irish Consulate and is willing to meet with Hanlon's family to explain the investigative process.

Carroll said she had e-mailed the Silverton Police Department and the Marion County District Attorney's office but got no reply.

"Nobody will speak to me and tell me anything," she said.

Silverton residents also are seeking information such as whether Hanlon was armed and how many shots were fired.

About 70 people protested at the Silverton Police Department on Wednesday.

Carroll now lives in France, was in Ireland visiting her other son when she received word of Hanlon's death.

Hanlon had been living with his mother in France and attending art school when he came to visit his sister in Silverton a year ago.

Carroll said her only contact in Silverton except for family members came from Mayor Ken Hector, who knew Hanlon and was very distressed.

"No mother and no family expects to lose a 20-year-old son," she said. "Nobody expects that. And to lose a son is one thing," Carroll continued, her voice breaking, "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."

Heise said services are pending.

Hanlon had mental issues and at times came banging on their door at night so they'd let him in for a place to sleep, Heise said.

The Heises say they think Hanlon took a wrong turn Monday night and started banging on doors on a different street, scaring the residents.

Someone called police, reporting a burglary, and one or more officers confronted Hanlon, Heise said.

Hanlon had been in Silverton for about a year and had overstayed his six months visitor's visa.

It gets dangerous , someone with `mental issues` banging on doors at night , drunk .

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/ ... TE=DEFAULT

FedupInFarmersBranch - thanks for posting all the news stories - great work!

Re: this story, and since I'm more or less in the area...

1. There is a lot of spin on this story. For one, the quiet and sleepy image painted of Silverton is not all that accurate. It is located near Salem (the State Capitol) and nearby Woodburn - probably the city with the highest proportion of IAs in the entire state. It is also in the outer fringes of urban/suburban farm country as well. They have their share of random/violent and IA-related crime.

2. Re:

Hanlon had been in Silverton for about a year and had overstayed his six months visitor's visa.

Ooops, "Houston, we have a problem".

3. I had heard about this story on the local news - but this is the first mention that that perp/("victim"?) was an IA. Oh well, can't do the time, don't do the crime. If you're an IA, I don't care where you're from (I'm an equal opportunity deporter).

Answers sought in Silverton shooting
Protesters demand details about why officer killed man

Download a PDF of this storyBy Danielle Peterson • Statesman Journal
July 3, 2008

A calm but concerned group of protesters gathered outside the Silverton police station Wednesday afternoon, looking for answers surrounding Andrew James Hanlon's death.
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According to the Marion County District Attorney's office, Hanlon, 20, was shot and killed Monday night by a Silverton police officer who responded to a reported burglary near Oak and Mill streets.

Few details about the shooting have been released, including whether Hanlon was armed. Protesters said they simply want to know why he was shot.

"Everybody deserves some answers," Silverton resident Jim Squires said. "I've lived here my whole life, and I've never seen anything like this happen before. It saddens my heart."

Ariel Burton, a close friend of Hanlon, said she can't imagine him ever being violent.

"People need to know, regardless of what they hear, that he was a good person," Burton said. "He loved everyone."

Silverton police Chief Rick Lewis said he understands the community's interest and desire to know what happened, but said he doesn't have the answers, either.

"We want answers, too, but it's not something that should be hurried," Lewis said of the investigation. "It's important for people to understand the process and that we're not doing the investigation. That's why we don't have very much information. We wouldn't investigate a fatal shooting involving one of our own. It wouldn't be appropriate."

A multiagency investigative team, the Marion County Homicide Assault Response Team, is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

"I'm confident that they're doing what they can," he said. "It's an unfortunate situation for everyone, particularly having to wait."

Silverton Officer Tony Gonzalez responded to a report of a burglary in progress about 11:18 p.m. Monday. During an encounter with Hanlon, Gonzalez shot Hanlon, who died at the scene, the Marion County District Attorney's office said.

As is policy, Gonzalez is on paid leave during the investigation.

Police officials initially identified Hanlon as O'Hanlon, but family members said that was incorrect. Marion County District Attorney spokesman Courtland Geyer said Wednesday that the agency now identifies the man as Hanlon.

Witnesses in the investigation — including Gonzalez — will be interviewed through today, Geyer said.

The investigation includes interviewing witnesses, comparing their statements and processing scene evidence and forensic evidence before deciding whether to bring the case to a grand jury. That process could take about three weeks, Geyer said.

"It is only natural to want to have all of the answers as soon as possible," Geyer said. "Even though we now have this great information age, it doesn't lend itself to processes like this."

About 70 people turned out for Wednesday's protest, most toting signs questioning the incident and the officer's actions.

Burton said that many of the people who showed up had never met Hanlon but felt connected to him in some way.

"Everybody seems pretty angry," Burton said of the community members she has spoken with. "It wasn't supposed to happen here. Not in Silverton. Not here and not to him. He was the best person I know. He didn't deserve this."

She said people started organizing the protest just before midnight Monday. A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday evening near Oak and Mill streets, close to where the shooting took place.

On Wednesday, there was no interaction between police and protesters.

Jessica Blade, also a close friend of Hanlon, said she didn't expect police to respond to the protest.

Wendy Gleason, a Silverton resident of about 30 years whose 19-year-old son was friends with Hanlon, said the area where the shooting took place is highly populated, even late at night.

"It's just unbelievable that something like this would happen," Gleason said. "I want to know why this happened, and then I want to know what (the police department) is going to do about it."

Hanlon's brother-in-law Nathan Heise said Hanlon had been struggling with recent bouts of paranoia and delusion, but Heise said he didn't think Hanlon could have posed a threat to officers.

Lewis said that all of his officers have received training on how to deal with the mentally ill, as well as the use of deadly force.

"In terms of use of deadly force, that training is ongoing," Lewis said. "They're trained to fully understand that the amount of force you use has to be reasonable based on the situation. That's something they'll be looking at in their investigation, determining whether that was an appropriate use of force."

Hanlon, a resident of Ireland, had been visiting the United States for the past year, Heise said. Hanlon lived in Silverton during his stay.

The Irish consulate has offered assistance to Hanlon's family in Ireland and on the West Coast, embassy spokesman Myles Geiran said.

He said the consulate has been in touch with Marion County prosecutors concerning the shooting investigation.

"The consulate has asked to be kept informed of developments," Geiran said. "It's still very early in all this."

The district attorney's office has contacted Hanlon's family locally and talked with the Irish consulate to say that officials are willing to meet with any of Hanlon's family members from Ireland, Geyer said.

"We're certainly open to hearing the concerns that they have," Geyer said.

Statesman Journal reporters Dennis Thompson Jr. and Ruth Liao contributed to this story.

djpeterson@salem.gannett.com


http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pb ... 8807030338

After reading the second story, and comparing with the first, the most likely scenario I can envision is this:

With the unwinding economic situation, there has been a slow, but gradual increasing rate of brash violent home invasion type robberies in my area. They have been stranger-on-stranger often times, and some have been violent encounters as well.

My best guess is that the residents that were on the receiving side of the door pounding probably mistakenly believed someone was trying to do a similar kind of break in. The police undoubtedly responded with appropriate intensity, and upon finding an impaired individual - whom might not be 100% familiar with the protocol used by local PDs in preventing a potentially violent encounter - had to make a very quick decision to stop the guy. Whether deadly force was warranted...? well, who knows. But, the Silverton PD has not had a history of problems in terms of excessive force nor careless policing. I guess we will have to wait until the investigation is completed, and the results published. But, so far, I'm hesitant to believe that the officer did anything unusual or outwardly 'wrong'.