LanceOregon
Moderator
It is now looking like Hispanic police officer Tony Gonzales of the Silverton, Oregon Police Dept may well be a rotten apple after all.
Only a little more than one year on the force, Officer Gonzales responded to a report of an attempted burglary the night of June 30th last month. He confronted an alien from Ireland named Andrew James Hanlon, who was incoherent and running around the street barefoot. Local relatives confirmed that Hanlon had been having significant mental health problems, and suffered from both paranoia and delusions.
Details of the shooting are sketchy, but it is known that Hanlon was not armed. He had tripped while running, and was attempting to get back up when Gonzales fired, striking him 7 times with bullets from his handgun.
The local police union, the District Attorney, all rallied to the defense of Gonazales, despite the fact that the man was totally unarmed, and was reported to be delusional and confused, and was said to have been looking for a shirt that he had lost.
Here is a news story about the police union's public statement that the shooting of Andrew James Hanlon was fully justified:
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/NEWS/807090423/1001
The shooting has caused an uproar in Ireland, and the press there has been reporting on the case extensively. See this early report:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0703/hanlona.html
The citizens of Silverton were shocked by the event, as no one had been shot in their town for over 20 years. This story has further background on the incident, and how it has affected the community:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/07/silverton_residents_still_feel.html
Meanwhile, while all of this controversy was taking place, a mother and daughter came forward this week, and accused Officer Gonzales of sexually abusing the young girl multiple times. The police quickly investigated, and they promptly arrested Gonzales for 2 counts of first degree sex abuse of a minor, and 3 counts of third degree sex abuse of a minor. So Gonzales is now currently sitting in jail.
See this news story all about the arrest:
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_071308_news_silverton_officer_arrested.4fb3e5a1.html
I wonder if the District Attorney will still clear him on the shooting?? The dead man's Irish relatives had been complaining of an official "whitewash" of the incident. It seems that officers are generally held blameless in most cases like this. But with these latest shocking revelations, it sure is looking more and more that Officer Gonzales may well be a rotten apple on the Silverton police force.
What do you think of all of this controversy?
.
Only a little more than one year on the force, Officer Gonzales responded to a report of an attempted burglary the night of June 30th last month. He confronted an alien from Ireland named Andrew James Hanlon, who was incoherent and running around the street barefoot. Local relatives confirmed that Hanlon had been having significant mental health problems, and suffered from both paranoia and delusions.
Details of the shooting are sketchy, but it is known that Hanlon was not armed. He had tripped while running, and was attempting to get back up when Gonzales fired, striking him 7 times with bullets from his handgun.
The local police union, the District Attorney, all rallied to the defense of Gonazales, despite the fact that the man was totally unarmed, and was reported to be delusional and confused, and was said to have been looking for a shirt that he had lost.
Here is a news story about the police union's public statement that the shooting of Andrew James Hanlon was fully justified:
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/NEWS/807090423/1001
The shooting has caused an uproar in Ireland, and the press there has been reporting on the case extensively. See this early report:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0703/hanlona.html
The citizens of Silverton were shocked by the event, as no one had been shot in their town for over 20 years. This story has further background on the incident, and how it has affected the community:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/07/silverton_residents_still_feel.html
Meanwhile, while all of this controversy was taking place, a mother and daughter came forward this week, and accused Officer Gonzales of sexually abusing the young girl multiple times. The police quickly investigated, and they promptly arrested Gonzales for 2 counts of first degree sex abuse of a minor, and 3 counts of third degree sex abuse of a minor. So Gonzales is now currently sitting in jail.
See this news story all about the arrest:
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_071308_news_silverton_officer_arrested.4fb3e5a1.html
I wonder if the District Attorney will still clear him on the shooting?? The dead man's Irish relatives had been complaining of an official "whitewash" of the incident. It seems that officers are generally held blameless in most cases like this. But with these latest shocking revelations, it sure is looking more and more that Officer Gonzales may well be a rotten apple on the Silverton police force.
What do you think of all of this controversy?
.