Officers cleared by grand jury after Salem shooting death: DA

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Three law enforcement officials who used deadly physical force in November were unanimously found to be justified in their actions by a Marion County Grand Jury Thursday.

This was all related to an incident that unfolded in Salem in the late morning of Nov. 24 that left 32-year-old Justin Lee Jordan dead by a gunshot wound, the Marion County District Attorney's Office said in a statement. 

The grand jury had found, based on video evidence from various sources and testimony, that Jordan would not comply with verbal and visual warnings provided by officers and deputies after he was waving guns around, pointing them at people and firing off rounds at a bystander.

In total, the investigation revealed Jordan fired his gun four times, pointed his firearms at area residents five separate times and at law enforcement at least four separate times. Several rounds were fired at Jordan collectively from Salem Police Officer John Parmer (firing two rounds), Oregon State Police Trooper Andrew Tuttle (firing one round) and Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy Caleb Mott (firing two rounds), each of whom was cleared by the grand jury. 

Though there were shots fired by Jordan in the direction of a passerby, which hit the car they were driving in, no pedestrians, bystanders or police officers were injured during the incident. 

Jordan had been seen by a neighbor, who heard a shot fired, putting two handguns he was holding to his head and saying “I’m going to kill everyone around me” and “Everyone’s dying around me.”

Later, a woman driving in a truck saw Jordan running at her with a pistol in his hand, pointing the gun toward her. The woman ducked, tried to move the card forward, and heard three “pops,” court records show. She heard the "dings" of something hitting her truck, sped off and called 911 when she was at a safe distance away, only to discover later that her vehicle had bullet holes in it.

Jordan pointed the guns at various other people and law enforcement officials throughout the incident. At one point, he walked toward officers and deputies from various law enforcement agencies, with guns in hand, and they yelled commands at him such as “drop the gun,” “we do not want to hurt you,” “get on the ground” and “we do not want to shoot you.”

Rather than complying, Jordan yelled back “kill me!” He pointed one of the guns at officers, with three of them firing back at him. Jordan was hit three times, with two of the bullets only grazing him. A third bullet penetrated both his lungs and heart, the medical examiner’s office said.

Before emerging from his home with guns, Jordan was recorded on his own Ring camera slamming his body and head against his front door. He also kicked his door and simulated putting a gun barrel to his temple with his fingertips to the Ring camera as well as simulating slitting his throat with his two fingers. He was also seen throwing around garbage from his own trash can, according to a neighbor who witnessed it while checking his car’s tire pressure.

The Marion County District Attorney’s Office notified the family of Jordan, who had no criminal record prior to the incident, of the legal determination and to answer any questions they might’ve had. Marion County DA Paige Clarkson also released the following statement:

 “Our community is very fortunate to have police professionals who willingly run toward these incredibly violent incidents to keep us all safe.  Their response speaks to their bravery in the face of extreme danger.  And just as nobody wanted this to occur on this day, nobody wanted this result for Mr. Jordan.  We offer our condolences to his family and loved ones”. 

Officials publicly released various pieces of evidence that the jury considered, such as the Ring camera footage, photographs of Jordan’s gun, surveillance videos, and body camera footage from Officer Parmer, Trooper Tuttle and another trooper. They also released a Google map of the entire incident, which began at Jordan’s home at 1238 Arabian Ave SE just before 11 a.m. on Nov. 24 and ended up encompassing a “geographically large” area, the release said.