PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The sister of a young man from Ireland killed by a Silverton police officer last month insists her unarmed brother had not been a threat that night, although a grand jury found otherwise and decided the officer was justified in shooting him.
     
Melanie Heise says her 20-year-old brother, Andrew Hanlon, may have been suffering from mental illness but he had no history of violence and had never used a weapon in his life.
     
"I acknowledge my brother was disturbed and perhaps even agitated on that night," Heise said at a Friday news conference at her attorney's office.
     
"What does not make sense to me is over and over again in Oregon and elsewhere that a confrontation between law enforcement and a person with mental illness ends up with the mentally ill person dead," Heise said.
     
A Marion County grand jury in Salem determined Thursday that Officer Tony Gonzalez was justified in shooting Hanlon.
     
Donald Abar, the deputy district attorney handling the case, said there was an eyewitness and the grand jury heard extensive testimony.
     
"My heart does go out to the family. It was a tragic loss for them," Abar said.
     
"They might not like the legal principles on justifying lethal force, but all the facts were presented and the legal principles were applied," he said.
     
Melanie Heise and her husband, Nathan, questioned whether the grand jury had a complete picture of Hanlon, but Abar said investigators gathered all the evidence that was available and admissible.
     
Nathan Heise compared Hanlon, who weighed about 120 pounds, to Gonzalez, a former Marine and cagefighting coach who weighs about 240 pounds.
     
Unless there was a complete breakdown in police communications, "the officer would have been aware he was dealing with an unarmed person in a confused mental state," Nathan Heise said.
     
"Was he not trained in how to respond in that situation?"
     
Abar said he could not comment on police training or standards. But he noted his office has prosecuted police officers in the past, and at least two are currently under indictment.
     
The attorney for the family, Steve Crew, said his firm would investigate and decide whether a wrongful death lawsuit was appropriate.
     
Crew noted that a toxicology report showed no traces of alcohol or drugs in Hanlon, although Abar said there were traces of marijuana.
     
The Marion County district attorney's office has been in touch with the Irish consul to share details about the case, Abar said.
     
Autopsy results have not been released but autopsies were done in Oregon and in Ireland. Hanlon's family was making funeral arrangements in Ireland.
     
Investigators said the incident began when Shannon Kelley heard pounding on her front door at 11:20 p.m. and saw Hanlon, whom she did not know, acting strangely.
     
Kelley asked him to leave, but Hanlon demanded to enter. She said he told her he had a sword and yelled phrases such as "Thou shalt let me in!" and at one point screamed he was the "angel of death."
     
Kelley phoned police and said she had to brace herself against the front door with her parents, who were visiting from Montana, to stop Hanlon from breaking it down.
     
Hanlon apparently gave up and ran toward a main street, where he was met by Gonzalez responding to the call.
     
The officer said he heard the sound of shattering glass and thought Hanlon might be armed with a broken bottle, although investigators believe Hanlon probably bumped into a recycling bin.
     
Gonzalez said he ordered Hanlon to show his hands and get down on the ground, and he appeared ready to comply before he charged the officer, kicking and screaming.
     
Gonzalez said he backpedaled, but could never get more than 5 feet away and started firing.
     
His version of events was backed up by Jeff DeSantis of Silverton, who witnessed the confrontation and told investigators Hanlon disregarded the officer's commands before he screamed and rushed the officer.
     
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)