Nothing calms things down like an AR-15

Here's a story that's more than a little disturbing. It's about the grand jury proceedings on the police killing of Robert Delgado in Lents Park last April. Now, when the d.a. releases the grand jury transcript, that's usually a sign that the cops think it shows they were in the right, and that the prosecutors agree. But I think a lot of us aren't so sure.

What we learn is that when Portland police officer Zack DeLong responded to the call of a crazy guy playing with a handgun, but not pointing it at anybody, in the park, the first thing DeLong did was whip out his handy AR-15 assault rifle. And about the second thing he said to the guy was "Listen, man, if you reach for a gun, I’m going to fucking shoot you." To show authority, you know.

Well, golly, it deteriorated from there. The deranged guy eventually pointed a replica handgun at PPB Rambo and was shot dead for his trouble.

The officer in question was an Army sniper in Afghanistan. He underwent gruesome trauma while he was there. Maybe he has some issues. Maybe the best instinct wouldn't be to brandish the machine gun. Maybe he is in the wrong job.

But his father is a former Portland cop. And the son seems to be fitting right in with the police in Portland, who have to been known at times to mix incompetence with a relentless mean streak. No wonder they are not everybody's heroes.