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Grand jury clears officers who shot unarmed naked man
SANDY, Ore. - A Clackamas County grand jury has decided that police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Gresham man should not face criminal charges.
Officers shot and killed 27-year-old Fouad Kaady last month after he was found wandering naked on Southeast 362nd Avenue in Sandy.
On Sept. 8, police received a report of a hit-and-run car accident and arrived to find Kaady naked.
Police say as the officers who responded to the call tried to get the man under control, he became combative.
The officers tried to Taser him, but were still unable to get Kaady to calm down. At one point, Kaady got on top of a patrol vehicle, which is when at least one of the officers opened fire. He died at the scene.
Last week, protestors gathered outside the Clackamas County court building where the grand jury was deliberating the case.
They criticized police for shooting the naked, unarmed man, claiming Kaady was in shock, possible after a gas can in his car caught fire while he was driving, igniting his clothes.
In a statement released by Clackamas County District Attorney John S. Foote, the grand jury returned a "not true bill," which means they were not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt there was evidence that a crime had been committed by the police officers involved in the incident.
How A Grand Jury Works
Note: The following information is from a statement released by Clackamas County District Attorney John S. Foote.
Due to the recent media interest in the process, function and purpose of the Grand Jury; the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office would like to contribute to the public understanding of this important institution.
The following points contain information that might be helpful to the public understanding of the Grand Jury:
The Grand Jury is comprised of seven citizens chosen at random during the regular jury term by the Court. The term of Grand Jury service in Clackamas County is one month. Source: Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 132.010, 132.020.
The Grand Jury may inquire into crimes committed in the County and present them to Court by way of presentment or indictment. Source: ORS 132.220.
The Grand Jury may consider only evidence that would be admissible at trial. Source: ORS 132.320.
A Grand Jury proceeding is a non-adversarial hearing conducted in privacy. Privacy of the proceedings encourages witnesses to come forward, prevents flight by potential defendants, ensures freedom of deliberation, encourages free and honest testimony and provided safeguards for those who might be the subject of the Grand jury proceeding. Source: ORS 132.310; Georgetown Law Journal.
The Grand Jury has subpoena power; weighs all evidence and when it believes that other evidence within its reach will explain away the charge, it has the power to order such evidence to be produced. Source: ORS 132.320(7); ORS 136.563.
The Grand Jury may only return an Indictment when all the evidence before it, if unexplained or uncontradicted, would warrant a conviction by the trial jury. The Indictment is not a finding of guilt; the defendant has the protection of a right to a trial before a Judge or trial by jury. Source: ORS 132.390, Oregon Constitution Article I, Section 11.
The accused person cannot be compelled to testify before the Grand Jury. Source: Oregon Constitution Article I, Section 12.
The District Attorney is the legal adviser to the Grand Jury. However, the District Attorney is not present during the Grand Jury's deliberations. Source: ORS 132.090(4); ORS 132.340.
An Indictment is confidential and may not be inspected by anyone except judicial or law enforcement officials until after the arrest of a defendant. No person except the District Attorney or a Peace Officer in making an arrest may disclose any fact concerning an Indictment while it is not subject to public inspection. Source: ORS 132.410; ORS 132.420.
The Grand Jury serves a very important function in our system of justice. As recognized by the Oregon Supreme Court, the Grand Jury is a safeguard. It is designed as a means of bringing to trial persons accused of crimes upon just grounds, but also protects citizens against unfounded accusations.
(From KATU & AP reports)