PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A Marion County grand jury cleared the Salem police officers who used deadly force during a standoff with a man outside a Walmart store last month.
Toxicology results show 49-year-old Mark Hawkins had methamphetamine, opiates and marijuana in his system when he barricaded himself in converted bus and fired at police, starting a seven-hour standoff that ended with him getting shot nine times.
The grand jury heard testimony from nine witnesses. The members also reviewed video exhibits, and examined photographs, scene diagrams, dispatch recordings, ballistic findings, firearms and autopsy conclusions.
The April 24 incident began when an officer ran a check on a license plate in the parking lot. He discovered that Hawkins had a felony warrant from Lane County.