BEAVERTON, Ore. (KOIN) — On the first day of his senior year of high school, prosecutors say Dylan Gregory posted a picture of himself holding a handgun on social media featuring the caption, “Who ready for school.” Now 6 months later his parents have filed a federal lawsuit, claiming at least 5 Beaverton police officers illegally detained them in their home for hours while they tried to figure out what happened to the gun.
According to prosecutors and the lawsuit, Beaverton police spotted the threatening post September 4, 2019 on SnapChat where Dylan wrote a “text stating approximately ‘first day of school’ and ‘so many white kids’.”
The lawsuit says Beaverton School Resource Officers showed up at his house at 8 a.m, and told his mother, Cindi Brewer they had arrested her 18-year-old son. His father, Stephen Gregory told KOIN 6 News Dylan rode the bus to Mountainside High School that day.
Meanwhile, at the family’s home Cindi Brewer told Beaverton police “there were no firearms in the house, not even a BB gun,” according to the lawsuit.
The couple says police wanted to look through Dylan’s room, but the officers admitted to them that they were not allowed to without a search warrant because Dylan was an adult. In the lawsuit, Cindi Brewer and Stephen Gregory say they asked Beaverton police to leave and come back when officers got the warrant, but police refused and held the couple in their home against their will for the next 8 hours.
“The sanctity of the home holds a special place in American law,” wrote their lawyer, Alex Meggitt.
The lawsuit says around 4 or 5 p.m. that day, police brought a search warrant to the house and searched Dylan’s room, but they didn’t find a gun.
A press release issued by the Washington County District Attorney’s Office after Dylan pleaded guilty to Disorderly Conduct and Harassment in November paints a different picture.
“Officers quickly requested and obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s home and found ammunition but were unable to locate the handgun featured in the photo,” wrote spokesman Stephen Mayer.
The press release praised police and school staff, quoting Deputy District Attorney Tyler Bissett: “We can never be too careful when it comes to student safety… We applaud Beaverton Police and school staff for acting so quickly to safeguard the students of Mountainside High School.”
The lawsuit does not say how much the couple is asking for in damages, but says the couple’s confidence in law enforcement has been shattered.
“Feeling that the (police) duped her into letting them into her home, Ms. Brewer no longer trusts police officers,” wrote Meggitt. “The Officer Defendant’s actions also embarrassed (the couple) in front of their community, and some neighbors no longer speak to them based on the stigma from this incident.”
Editors note: A previous version of this story said Dylan Gregory was arrested the day of the threat while he was riding as a passenger in a car that smelled of marijuana on his way to Mountainside High School, and that police found a pipe containing methamphetamine residue hidden in Dylan’s clothing. According to court records and Dylan’s father, that offense is a separate incident that occurred nearly a month after the school threat.