Family of Robert Delgado sues city over police shooting

PORTLAND, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) — The son of Robert Delgado, a Portland man who was shot and killed by police in 2021, has filed a lawsuit against the city and police officers.

Delgado was shot by Officer Zachary DeLong at Lents Park on April 16, 2021. Delgado was 46 years old and living in a tent at the park.

That morning, a witness called the non-emergency line to report that Delgado was pointing a gun at a fence.

DeLong and other officers were dispatched to the park, where DeLong “observed Mr. Delgado wearing no shirt and standing by himself in the park,” according to the lawsuit, filed by the Oregon Justice Resource Center on behalf of Delgado’s son, Skyler Delgado. DeLong saw Robert Delgado’s hands were empty and did not see a gun, the lawsuit stated.

DeLong and Officer Samantha Wuthrich both pointed weapons at Delgado from behind a tree and “shouted conflicting orders at him, even though he was not armed and had done nothing to threaten the officers,” the lawsuit alleged. DeLong is part of the police bureau’s enhanced crisis intervention team, in which officers receive additional training to “identify risks during a behavioral crisis, utilize crisis communication techniques to help de-escalate a person in crisis, and have knowledge of available community resources.”

Read more on the Portland Tribune’s website.