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As she crouched on her knees and Santiago A. Cisneros III pointed a shotgun point blank at her, Portland Police Officer Michele Boer said all she could think was "that I was going to die."
The Multnomah County District Attorney released transcripts today of the grand jury testimony surrounding the March 4 shooting of Cisneros at the top of a parking garage at Northeast Seventh Avenue and Lloyd Boulevard. Police brass held a press conference and released the emergency audio shortly after.
Boer and Officer Brad Kula drove to the top of the garage at about 10:45 pm—a place where Boer said she often goes to check emails and write reports between calls—when Cisneros drove up in a black BMW. As officers shined a light on his car, Cisneros walked to his trunk, grabbed a shotgun and began firing.
Chief Mike Reese said today that Cisneros appeared to be "hunting" Boer as she crouched behind her car to take cover, and also fired at Kula. One live shotgun round and four spent shells were recovered at the scene, he says.
Kula, also crouched behind his police cruiser, fired what appear to be dozens of bullets, eight of which hit Cisneros, mostly in the lower torso. Cisneros, 32, died at 11:20 pm at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital. Neither officer was injured; both are still on paid administrative leave.
Grand jury testimony shows from Cisnero's father and brother say he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, following his time in Iraq serving in the U.S. Army. Family told the grand jury he was improving before the shooting.
Here's the audio of Boer and Kula's calls for help:
WWeek 2015