Editorial

Scrutiny needed in tragic deaths

Our Opinion

The Portland Tribune, Jul 9, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (12 Reader comments)

The sad story of 42-year-old James P. Chasse Jr., who died in 2006 after a brutal encounter with police in downtown Portland, and the equally tragic case of 27-year-old Fouad Kaady, a Gresham resident who was killed a year earlier by police in Clackamas County, have more in common than allegations of police brutality.

Both cases prompted public outrage and intense media scrutiny. Both led to multimillion dollar wrongful-death lawsuits. And in neither case has the public received a satisfactory investigation and explanation for what appeared to be unnecessary use of force.

The Chasse and Kaady cases reappeared in the news last week when two public agencies agreed to settle lawsuits out of court. For Chasse’s family, it was Multnomah County that decided to pay $925,000 rather than defend its portion of a suit that will continue against the city of Portland and other defendants. Kaady’s family received a settlement of $1 million from the city of Sandy only and will continue to pursue a broader lawsuit against Clackamas County and one of its sheriff’s deputies.

While we are not overjoyed at the prospect of expending additional public resources defending against lawsuits, in these two cases, we hope the remaining suits press forward.

Four years have passed since the unarmed, naked and badly burned Kaady was shot. Three years have gone by since the mentally ill Chasse, who had committed no real crime, suffered the blunt-force trauma, dozens of rib fractures and subsequent neglect that preceded his death. But in these cases, citizens still lack the information they need to assess the performance of police and other public officials.

Those details will never be disclosed and full accountability will never be exacted, however, if all the lawsuits eventually are settled out of court. Public agencies benefit when they keep cases from going to trial. All too often, it is cheaper — especially when the cost is paid by insurance companies — to settle a case, even for large sums of money, than it is to defend it.

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