Kelly Jones Complaint For Injunctive Relief
Kelly Jones Complaint For Injunctive Relief
2/11/2022 11:27 AM
22CV05575
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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE STATE OF OREGON
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6 FOR MULTNOMAH COUNTY
8 Case No.
KELLY JONES
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as personal representative for COMPLAINT FOR
10 the estate of Michael Townsend INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
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Plaintiff Wrongful Death
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vs Filing Fee Authority: ORS 21.135
13 Not Subject to Mandatory Arbitration
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CITY OF PORTLAND
Jury Trial Requested
15 Defendant
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19 FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
20 Mr. Townsend was a disabled Portland resident who lived with bipolar
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depression and schizophrenia. On June 24, 2021, Mr. Townsend called 911 seeking
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mental health care. The City ultimately routed Mr. Townsend’s 911 call to a police
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24 officer with a handgun to perform a welfare check. During the welfare check, the
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police officer, working in the course and scope of his employment with the City,
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intentionally shot Mr. Townsend with a handgun in the parking lot of the Motel 6 at
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518 NE Holladay Street. Mr. Townsend died as a result of the shooting.
WRONGFUL DEATH COMPLAINT – Page 1 of 5
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The City does not have adequate policies to ensure that residents like Mr.
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Townsend who call 911 in need of emergency mental health services are served and
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6 protected. Instead of receiving health care services, residents like Mr. Townsend who
7 call 911 during a mental health crisis often end up dealing with armed police officers,
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and if they survive their encounters with armed police officers, often end up in the
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criminal justice system, rather than the mental health system. The City has various
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11 teams of workers with specialized training and knowledge in dealing with mental
12 health crises, including the Behavioral Health Unit, located within the Community
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Services Division, the Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team, one of the Behavioral
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Health Response Teams, and the Service Coordination Team. The City did not
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16 dispatch any of these teams to serve and protect Mr. Townsend on June 24, 2021.
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The City could have routed Mr. Townsend’s 911 call to the Bureau of Emergency
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Communications, which uses a mental health script and checklist, or routed the 911
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call to the County Mental Health Call Center, which is staffed by workers trained in
21 crisis intervention. The City could have also used the Tri-County 911 Service
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Coordination Program which consists of licensed clinical social workers who help to
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provide residents with mental health and social services, and are in frequent contact
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25 with ambulance and emergency medical services, without the need or use of deadly
26 force. Instead of using any of these options, the City sent a police officer with a
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handgun who was trained to kill, to conduct Mr. Townsend’s welfare check, resulting
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in Mr. Townsend’s death.
WRONGFUL DEATH COMPLAINT – Page 2 of 5
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CAUSE OF ACTION
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Wrongful Death
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6 Mr. Townsend lost his life due to the wrongful acts and omissions of the City
7 as alleged in this complaint in one or more respects: Mr. Townsend was having a
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mental health crisis and the use of lethal force by the City was unjustified and
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unwarranted and unnecessary under the circumstances; the City failed to maintain
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11 and follow reasonable use of force policies that could have and would have de-
12 escalated the situation; as the situation unfolded, the City could have safely done
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any number of things that would have not resulted in Mr. Townsend’s death,
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including and not limited to retreating or using non-lethal force; the City failed to
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16 use reasonable care to enforce and execute policies to properly and adequately serve
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and protect residents undergoing mental health crises and failed to train and
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supervise its armed officer to refrain from unnecessarily killing Mr. Townsend; the
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officer responding to the known a mental health crisis could have and should have
21 attempted to disarm Mr. Townsend without killing him and without using scare
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tactics, and could have used safety care behavioral safety training skills to de-
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escalate and diffuse the situation. Instead of using any of these non-lethal options,
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25 the City sent a police officer with a handgun who was trained to kill, to conduct Mr.
26 Townsend’s welfare check, resulting in Mr. Townsend’s unnecessary death.
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WRONGFUL DEATH COMPLAINT – Page 3 of 5
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Kelly Jones is the appointed personal representative of the estate of Michael
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Townsend according to a judgment entered in Multnomah County Circuit Court
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6 dated January 21, 2022 in case number 21PB08995. As a result of the City’s wrongful
7 behavior as alleged in this complaint, Mr. Townsend lost his life. Mr. Townsend’s
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loss of life was avoidable, and was a reasonably foreseeable result of the City’s
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wrongful behavior.
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11 5.
12 REQUEST FOR JURY TRIAL
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The estate respectfully requests a trial by a jury.
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WRONGFUL DEATH COMPLAINT – Page 4 of 5
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PRAYER FOR RELIEF
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The estate respectfully requests an order and judgment against the City
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6 declaring that the City wrongfully caused the death of Mr. Townsend, costs and
7 disbursements, and for an order requiring the City to increase the training its police
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officers receive to provide welfare checks in response to 911 calls for mental health
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care, and for an order requiring dispatchers of 911 calls for mental health care to
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11 make good faith efforts to route the calls to teams with specialized training and
12 knowledge in dealing with mental health crises, whenever reasonably possible.
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14 February 11, 2022
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RESPECTFULLY FILED,
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/s/ Michael Fuller
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Michael Fuller, OSB No. 09357
18 Lead Attorney for the Estate
OlsenDaines
19 US Bancorp Tower
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111 SW 5th Ave., Suite 3150
Portland, Oregon 97204
21 michael@underdoglawyer.com
Direct 503-222-2000
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23 Robert Le, OSB No. 094167
Trial Attorney for the Estate
24 The Law Office of Robert Le
25 826 SE 3rd Ave Suite 302
Portland, Oregon 97214
26 rl@robertlelaw.com
Office 503-734-2099
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