PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The daughters of a man killed by a Sandy police officer filed a lawsuit Friday against the City of Sandy and Clackamas County.
During a welfare check in July 2020, Officer Michael Boyes shot and killed Douglas Diamond. According to the lawsuit, Boyes opened fire, while Clackamas County Sergeant Sean Collinson restrained Diamond.
“The events that transpired that day were inexcusable and have forever changed our lives.” said Chelsea Diamond, one of Diamond’s daughters. “Our father was a retired police sergeant and we always viewed the police as ‘safe’. In our time of need, we looked to the police for help and instead our father is gone with no explanation.”
On July 3, 2020, the Sandy Police Department received a call from Diamond’s family who said he was having a mental health crisis. Officials said family members told them the 58-year-old was alone and firing a handgun.
A deputy “had been calmly talking with Doug for 15 minutes” before other law enforcement arrived, according to the lawsuit.
Shortly after the shooting, officials said Douglas Diamond didn’t want to obey any commands authorities gave him, leading officials to use a beanbag shotgun and a Taser, neither worked to subdue him. That’s when Boyes — who had been with Sandy PD for four months — shot Diamond.
According to the lawsuit, Collinson told Sandy Officer William Wetherbee to use his beanbag shotgun, while he used his Taser on Diamond.
Collinson was also shot during the struggle and suffered wounds to his arm and finger. Investigators said Boyes was the only person who ever fired a gun.
“The police response to this incident was completely irrational and out of step with basic police practices,” said Jesse Merrithew, an attorney representing the Diamond estate. “The police were called in to help and did precisely the opposite.”
Further, the lawsuit alleges the county “misled the public and the press, falsely implying that Doug had fired at the police. This was a pure fabrication.”