Portland Man’s Fatal Encounter With Police Officer Began With a Request for a Cigarette at a MAX Station

Grand jury testimony reveals new details about the confrontation that led Portland police to fatally shoot Terrell Kyreem Johnson.

MAX train at station. (TriMet)

The confrontation that resulted in a Portland police officer fatally shooting 24-year-old Terrell Kareem Johnson started with a simple request to bum a cigarette from a group waiting for a MAX train in Southeast Portland.

A transcript of grand jury testimony, released today by the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office reveals a chaotic and complicated series of events that led to police arriving at the Flavel Street MAX station on May 10.

The testimony describes a combination of apparent mental illness, bad tempers, alcohol and weapons at the Green Line train station—with Johnson and a person he confronted both allegedly brandishing knives.

On multiple occasions on the MAX platform, tensions appeared to be defused—but people offended by Johnson's behavior kept confronting him, and the dispute turned deadly when a police officer arrived.

Witnesses agree that shortly before 7 pm, Johnson approached three people waiting to catch a train on their way to a Chris Brown concert and asked if he could have a smoke. One of them, Meredith Rivera, told him no.

According to the testimony, Johnson stood staring at the group, allegedly "mean mugging" them for a couple of minutes before laying down on the station floor.

"Now that we're done rudely being interrupted, what were you saying?" Rivera asked before returning to the group's conversation.

Minutes later, Johnson allegedly ran at Jacob Leiker, who had been talking with Rivera and her pregnant step-daughter Brendalis Rivera Sanchez. Leiker ran, and Johnson allegedly started chasing him.

Rivera told jurors that two men on the platform told her that Johnson had a knife. She said she never saw a knife herself.

Then she called 911. By then, Johnson had returned to lying down on the ground again.

Leiker, who lives across the street from the MAX station, left and grabbed a knife from his kitchen. He returned to the MAX platform with several friends who had been at his house. He said he wanted to make sure that Rivera and Sanchez were safe.

When they came back to the station, Leiker said he asked Rivera and Sanchez where Johnson had gone. They pointed out where he was lying on the platform. Leiker and his friends confronted Johnson, Johnson allegedly reached for his box cutter, and Leiker pulled out the kitchen knife.

Leiker said Johnson asked him why he had come back.

"Chasing me with a knife and stuff, that's no crap," Leiker told jurors he said to Johnson.

"Don't do nothing stupid," Leiker's friend urged him as he approached Johnson. "Be smart about this."

Then, Leiker's father showed up and confronted Johnson. Leiker said that shortly after that, Johnson had put away the box cutter he had. But Leiker continued to yell at Johnson and had to be pulled back by a friend. After his friend pushed him back 30 feet from where Johnson was standing, Leiker said he finally put the kitchen knife away.

Moments later, a man named Steve Alexander showed up at the station—smelling of alcohol, according to Leiker's account. Alexander allegedly tried to attack Johnson, but Leiker and his father held him back.

Leiker said that was the moment when Portland police finally showed up to investigate the 911 call that Rivera had made.

When Rivera called 911, she did not mention that she suspected Johnson was carrying a knife in his pocket. Officers did not know that Johnson had a box cutter in his pocket prior to arriving at the MAX station.

Alexander told grand jurors that he saw an officer approach Johnson and ask him what had been going on. Then, he said, Johnson took off running toward the bridge tracks. He said he saw one officer follow him.

Alexander followed, and said he saw Johnson kneel down and start fumbling with his coat. He said he couldn't tell from his vantage point if Johnson had the box cutter in his hand at any point. That's when he said he saw the officer shoot Johnson.

The Multnomah County grand jury found Portland Police Officer Samson Ajir justified in the shooting.

Ajir told jurors he saw the box cutter in Johnson's hand before he fired. He said he called out for Johnson to drop the knife at least once, maybe twice. Despite his ballistic vest, he said he felt his life was in danger.

"It was how sharp that knife is and the exposure of my arms and my neck," Ajir said in his grand jury testimony. "It just – different mindset when you're dealing with bullets and gun-type calls, your body is focused, I guess, on your vest. And in this call it was focused on the exposure of how sharp a knife is and how – it doesn't – I mean, it takes nothing."

Ajir said Johnson made several slashing motions from about six feet away. Ajir stumbled on the train tracks, he testified. He told the grand jury he felt the need to get a shot off quickly, because he was falling and Johnson was coming toward him. Then he fired his gun four times, striking Johnson in the chest and arm with three bullets.

"I thought I was going to get killed," Ajir told the grand jury.

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