10/19/06 (OR): Expert Witness Disputes Police Version.
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Portland Police Bureau’s contention that James Chasse died as a result of being accidentally fallen on by officer Christopher Humphreys as he was shoved to the ground has been disputed by Expert Witness Dr William Brady.
Curiously, the contention (released in a factsheet issued by Bureau’s Public Information Office) also contradicts Humphreys’ own statement to the Police investigation, released this afternoon to the media by the Chasse family lawyer, Tom Steenson, in which he says twice that he fell onto the sidewalk.
Asked why the police would release a factsheet that directly contradicts the testimony of one of their own officers, Steenson said “They’re trying to control the damage, protect their own officers and spin it.”
While the police say Chasse was only struck three times—once inadvertently, and kicked and punched one time each, Steenson says the police "left out of the fact sheet that six to ten witnesses saw repeated kicks and blows."
Steenson's independent Expert Witness, Dr. William Brady (who was Oregon Medical Examiner from 1969 to 1985), disputes the police explanation of the cause of Chasse's injuries—that the blunt force trauma was caused by "another person or a fall." Brady says Chasse's injuries could well have been caused by kicking or striking—indeed, had they been caused only by his fall, there would have been some sternum damage, and there was none.
The Chasse family have yet to decide on whether to pursue a civil claim.
© X-Pro 2006
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