Aaron Campbell's mother: 'I want justice'
PORTLAND, Ore. – The mother of man who was shot and killed by Portland Police in 2010 said the bureau needs to change the way it trains officers.
Aaron Campbell’s mother, Marva Davis, shared her thoughts outside City Hall Wednesday, after she settled a lawsuit with the police bureau for $1.2 million.
Davis said the money doesn’t mean that much to her. She took the settlement to avoid the pain of a trial. Davis said she wants justice most of all.
"It was tough," said Davis. "I was going back and forth, but I don't want to relive that. I lost two sons that day. Not just Aaron. I lost two sons."
Campbell's brother Tim died earlier that day. It was that death that had Campbell distraught and suicidal.
The money will help her raise Campbell’s four children and pay for their educations, Davis said.
Campbell, 25, was shot and killed in January 2010 during an incident at the Sandy Terrace Apartments on NE Sandy Boulevard. Four officers were involved in the shooting.
Police said Officer Ronald Frashour III fired a single shot from a rifle at Campbell, who was unarmed, when he started running back toward the apartment. Frashour was fired over the incident but is fighting to get his job back.
The other three officers involved in the shooting were suspended.
Police said they fired on Campbell over concerns about the safety of residents inside the apartments that Campbell was running toward, as well as the safety of fellow officers who were behind the apartments.
Court documents show that if the case had gone to trial, several Portland police officers were ready to testify that Frashour acted in accordance with his training when he shot Campbell.
Davis said the deadly force training that officers receive is the problem because it leads to deaths of unarmed people like her son.
“Hopefully we can have justice for everyone. Black, white, red… Just justice," she said. "Somebody's got to take a stand.”