Mother heard son shot by Portland police during phone call
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SEATTLE -- A mother is now haunted by a phone call with her son in where she heard the gun shots that took his life.
Antoinette Cisneros was on the phone with her son Santiago when a shootout started with police at a Portland parking garage.
"I was there," she said. "I heard my son being killed."
Last Monday, two police officers in northeast Portland said they came upon 32-year-old Santiago Cisneros, who was armed with a shotgun, on the top of a parking garage.
His mom says he sounded calm on the line, but didn't make sense.
"He said to me, 'Mom, they're forcing me to go higher. They're forcing me to go higher,' " Antoinette Cisneros said.
Investigators say Santiago Cisneros got out of his car with a shotgun and fired on officers. His mom could still hear him talking on the open phone line.
"And he said, 'Mom, forgive me. I love you. I love you mom. Forgive me.' I said, 'Hago. Hago I love you.' "
Officers returned fire and Cisneros was hit. He died later at a hospital.
KOMO News interviewed Cisneros in 2009. The Army combat veteran talked about his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and attempting suicide.
A family member says an officer involved in the shooting also has trouble in her background. Surveillance video shows officer Michele Boer off-duty at a Portland restaurant in 2010, moments before her arrest for assault. Ultimately, a grand jury declined to indict her.
"I have no hate," Antoinette Cisneros said. "I'm here because of the love for my son."
Santiago Cisneros apparently spent his final days outside Portland city hall at a homeless protest, where he'd begun to give away his belongings. His mother says he simply loved humanity.
"But my son died, his last words: 'I love you mom, k?' "
The two Portland officers are on standard, paid leave while the shooting is investigated. Antoinette Cisneros asks that people not judge her son before that investigation is complete.
Sorry mom your son turned into a coward. He was one of our countries heros, but even that honor can be taken away by his actions. To those crying foul of his mental illness there are many hundreds of thousdands of people with PTSD who manage just fine. No matter how much we would like to get them all, it is just not going to happen.  Take a look at drug users, people with depression, homeless people. The person afflicted has a role in this and that is the will to fight their ailment. This guy could have been well known off his rocker and guess what? There is nothing anyone could force him to do, unless he is a willing participant.   All that aside he opened fire on the cops. They rightly returned fire. Case closed.
So could the headline have said, "Mom hears son shoot at officers during phone call?"Â Talk about biased KATU, most of us are sad this man died, but enough already.Â
What a tragic loss of life. I can't imagine the horror this mother experienced during the phone call. I have seen nothing in the news reports that suggest any wrong doing on the part of the police officers involved in this incident. For them it must seem and feel just as senseless and tragic.
@DeaconBugg Nope but KATU jumps at every chance they get to make the officers feel they did wrong. Who the hell cares who this guy was on the phone with.Â
This drunken Michele Boer is a mess.  Another classic example of the police and the Grand Jury protecting another out of control ego power tripping cop.  There isn't any wonder that she would be involved in a shooting and her past just increases the questions about the legitimacy of the homicide.  The Portland Police never take any responsible action...proactive action.... in protecting the honor of the bureau they only know how to react to protect bad cops and they have had loads of practice...too much practice.
@Icarus Yes, she is. She is a classic example of someone who never should have been hired in the first place and then when they have a chance to get rid of a poorly performing officer, they don't. I'm no cop-hater but until the PPB starts making better hiring decisions and holding their officers accountable for their actions we will continue to have problems. This particular girl spent her entire time at the Police Academy trying to sleep with any male officers she could get her hands on and then has two questionable violent incidents in a four year career. Portlands finest.
@Icarus Where exactly where the cops wrong on this one?Â
Very chilling. My heart goes out to this mom. When you send them off to serve, you wonder if they'll come home alive. So traumatic that he came home, only to die.
@Lips Well said.
"And he said, 'Mom, forgive me. I love you. I love you mom. Forgive me.' I said, 'Hago. Hago I love you.' "
My heart goes out to the Mother. May your Son rest in peace. I'm truly sorry for whatever demons he's had to endure since coming home from war. I agree with Jeremy, we've let our vets down.
So sorry for mom that he had to get her involved in his own battle with hidden demons. But, it happens!
Maybe I missed them, but I didn't see any comments about the woman cop who was seen on a security camera punching another restaurant patron--but no charges were filed against her--and she's back on the street with her anger management problem and a loaded gun.
The PPB has a license to kill because they fear for their lives the moment they put on the uniform--and no grand jury has the guts to indict them. So, I fear for my life in Portland and am avoiding going there just because of all the trigger-happy cops!
Take note Chamber of Commerce, your killer cops are costing you money!
What has this got to do with the lawful exercise of deadly physical force by PPB in this case?
@jpk  I know that you will go to the mat to protect your buddies in blue and I guess that undying allegiance excuses you for being an idiot and missing the most basic of facts.  Something like a the Pope who would never condemn a pedophile priest and do everything to protect that pedophile so is the allegiance of one cop for another.
@Icarus What the hell is wrong with you, you ghoul.
You just keep believing your perverted sense of allegiance, Icky! You are so wrong! The people we serve and protect are the only ones we owe ANY responsibility to! But you just keep believing your cliches!
OK, I did see one comment calling her violent background "ïnteresting."
If he was giving away his things maybe he was planning this shooting as a suicide.  Giving away your  possessions is one sign of an impending suicide.
@KATUNews horrible
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Errr, what?
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@Oregon7812Â The police dont write the laws, even a gradeschool education would teach you that.
@TheUglyTruth Sometimes mental health issues are severe enough to prevent someone from supporting themselves. Since society often ostracizes these people, the usually end up on the street or in a shelter somewhere until their condition forces them out or gets them forced out.
Maybe just Maybe if our government cared about are soldiers as much as they care about appeasing the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Mexican cartels,they would stop cutting VA benefits for the soldiers returning from these asinine wars. Maybe then vets like this man could get the help they deserve. You all want to blame the PPD for doing exactly what they are trained to do when they are being fired upon yet you fail to place the blame for how this man got into this situation where it belongs. You duly elected overlords have spent years throwing soldiers into the meat grinder and then tossing them to the side when they were completely used up. The government in Washington D.C. is also to blame for this. This man chose the cowards way out when he could no longer deal with his life, and he didn't even have the balls to do it himself he had to get the police officers to do it for him, not only did he wreck his families life but he decided to take a cop with him. Now these two officers will have to deal with this when all they were trying to do was help make this craptastic city better and getting crapped on for doing it.
@JeremyÂ
So...pretty much everything you said was bullcrap.  Nobody's cutting VA benefits.  There is tons of help for guys like Mr. Cisneros available.  Calling suicide "the coward's way out" is as accurate as calling you knowledgeable and thoughtful.  One doesn't "elect" overlords; the concept of an overlord is anathema to democratic governance.  Seriously, the only thing you said that has even a kernel of truth in it is that the officers who shot Mr. Cisneros are going to suffer some emotional and psychological stress from the incident.  Everything else?  Pure, Grade A bullcrap.
Tell me again about all the mental health available to the soldiers that suffer PTSD. If anything you say is true this would not happen. Lets face it the government tosses thes kids into a meat grinder and when/if they get home they are tossed aside and told good luck. The overlords thing was SARCASM try looking it up.
@Diogenes @Jeremy 300,000 homeless veterans living under every bridge in the nation all who are clutching handfuls of VA "DISABILITY CLAIM DENIED" Letters & brown VA pharmacy bags filled with dozens of VA MEDS ...says otherwise .
@LovesLilies @Diogenes @August100 @JeremyÂ
I work for the VA helping to get homeless Veterans off the streets. Â I'm pretty confident in my figures. Â Since we have access to the DoD's database, we can't be conned by someone pretending to be a Veteran. Â But I know what you mean about people pretending to be homeless Veterans; there are a lot of that sort.
@Diogenes @August100 @Jeremy Not everyone who claims to be a veteran actually is.  Whenever someone claims to have served in either Iraq war, my husband (a Vet) asks them where they were stationed.  Their answer tells him whether they served there or not and I've been surprised at how many times people have lied about their service.  He got pretty jaded about it pretty quickly.
@August100 @Diogenes @JeremyÂ
Um, there aren't "300,000" homeless Veterans. Â There are about 60,000. Â Still a lot, but not remotely as many as you claim. Â As for disability claims, that's a whole different thing. Â Big problems with the VBA, and a backlog that's only growing. Â I'm hoping their new computerized claims system will cut the claim time and increase the accuracy of their determinations, but still.
Shame on all you who are taking blows at a wounded family!
The PPD--Portland Pig Despot--has a history full of unwarranted killings. Or have you all forgotten the last decade of headlines? They are infamous for their wanton use of force. I hope there is a fair and balanced investigation into this incident. Perhaps it was a murder, perhaps it was a suicide. None of you naieve heartless people in the peanut gallery can know. As for me, my prayers are with the family. I hope that justice is done. "They're forcing me to go higher," doesn't sound like the last words of an aspiring suicide to me. God bless the Cisnero family. May the angels keep Santiago.
@cedartrees I will say it again. there was no wrong doing by the police in this case. She made this public so yep, we will comment.
@cedartrees You are correct about not being able to know what really happened.  Possibly not even Santiago could know for sure if this was "suicide by cop" or not (denial can be a powerful thing).  However he did previously attempt suicide, he was giving his belongings away, he called his mom while he was armed with a shot gun with police nearby, and he opened fire on police.  To quote the magic 8 ball "All signs point to yes."  It doesn't mean "yes, 100%, absolutely" just that given that information it seems more likely than not.
@LovesLilies I know, you're right, but it seems that the mother is suspicious. Perhaps that's out of grief, but then again maybe not. She claims she didn't hear a shotgun blast, and his line about being "forced" to go higher is interesting. Sadly there's a good chance that Santiago did decide to take his own life, but I think it's good to be open to possibilities.
And I never said anything about censoring all the insensitive comments. I just think they're insensitive.
@cedartrees Shouldn't have been running with a shot gun.
@cedartrees She shared her private last moments regarding her son with the PRESS.  We have every right to comment.
@negativerep As tactless as many here might be considered, you are correct. Its been made public therefore any discussions will not and should not be censored - its best to just ignore the thoughtless comments, their aim typically is to derail any open dialogue.
Santiago Cisneros was IN FEAR FOR HIS LIFE & shot his gun in SELF-DEFENSE!
Portland's dirty thug cops ARE KNOWN WORLDWIDE for BRUTALLY MURDERING INNOCENT PEOPLE!
@August100 Got news for you any police force would have shot this man. Any CHL carrier would have the right to shoot this man.  Get over it
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@TheUglyTruth @feral @August100 They love it in Chicago.Â
@feral @August100 Yeah that was tried several times in the past and it never works out well, Ask the Russians under Stalin/Lennon, or the Jews under Hitler. Hell just look at Mexico where the populace cant own anything bigger than a .32 cal revolver. Gun control is working great in that country if you are a member of one of the Cartels.
@August100Â Were you there? could it be that maybe he wanted to die by getting the cops to shoot him because he didn't have the balls to do it himself? When you fire on the cops they will return fire. If you hate the way the PPB handles the job sign up and try doing it better.Â
@Jeremy @August100 Well said Jeremy.  That he was giving his belongings away and called his Mom to tell her he loved her just before opening fire on police leans strongly towards "suicide by cop".  Who better than a solider to know that firing on police will bring return fire that is mostly likely going to be lethal?  And in some religions it is an unforgivable sin to commit suicide.  Â
Self-Defense against dirty Portland cops is AN ABSOLUTE RIGHT given by the Creator & guaranteed by US Constitution!
@August100Â Guess I missed the reference to Portland PD in the Bible and the Constitution. Â
It's towards the back...
@LovesLilies @August100 The Bible HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the Creator; that book was written to make TRILLION & TRILLION off the FOOLS of this world....and as long as people believe that nonsense TRILLIONS MORE will be make...
@Welfair Chick @danoseknows My mother lives in a NYC Penthouse; it does not have a basement....if it did I'd move into it in a HEARTBEAT; her view is KILLER!
@August100 @LovesLilies The meds,....take the meds......subliminal message complete.........processing........processing......
You're barely literate. I'm not sure I trust what you have to say.
 @August100 Dude really time to up the dosage your crazy is starting to show.