The inquest into the death of a Dublin man who was shot dead by a police officer in the US has heard he was unarmed when he was killed.
Andrew Hanlon (20) was shot dead by former police officer Tony Gonzalez on June 30th last year in the town of Silverton, south of Portland, in the state of Oregon.
Mr Hanlon was hit five times at close range by a powerful Glock pistol, with the final bullet entering his body as he fell to the ground.
An inquest at Dublin County Coroner’s Court in Tallaght heard ex-officer Tony Gonzalez was aware Mr Hanlon was unarmed while witnesses said he was barefoot and getting down as the policeman opened fire.
Marion County District Attorney’s Office maintained Mr Gonzalez came across Mr Hanlon when he responded to a 911 burglary call.
Mr Hanlon’s stepfather Justin Carroll told the inquest the young man - who was barefoot and unarmed - had been banging on the door of the house shouting ‘let me in’ and was not trying to break in.
Mr Carroll said friends who had been with Mr Hanlon 20 minutes earlier said he was in good spirits, but for some reason he became extremely agitated and went to the house. “There’s a suspicion he was being chased. But nobody can say if it’s true or not. Only Andrew,” he added.
Police were called to the scene by the frightened homeowners but Mr Hanlon was about 100 metres away from the property when an officer spotted him. “The printout from the radio conversation between dispatch and officers confirms Officer Gonzalez was aware Andrew was unarmed,” said Mr Carroll.
Mr Carroll said witnesses claimed to have heard the officer confront Mr Hanlon, who was five metres away, and warn him ‘do you want me to shot you?’
“He was in the process of getting down,” said Mr Carroll. “Andrew seemed to straighten up and step forward. He was moving out from between two cars. The officer fired seven times. Andrew was shot five times.”
He maintained the officer was an ex-cage fighter, martial arts expert and was about four times the body mass of his stepson. “Even if Andrew was not complying with what the officer said his actions were excessive,” added Mr Carroll.
After the shooting, Mr Gonzalez was placed on administrative leave but was later cleared by a grand jury of wrongdoing. He resigned from the force in August. He was jailed in December for more than six years after pleading guilty to four counts of sex abuse.
Mr Hanlon was living illegally in the US after his holiday visa had expired with his sister Melanie Heise, who remains in Silverton. The inquest heard she believed her younger brother had begun to have psychological problems, but Mr Carroll insisted he was a normal homesick man.
State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy said two bullets had entered Andrew’s left arm and lodged in his lungs, with a third hitting his back left shoulder. The final bullet struck him in his lower body as he was falling to the ground, she said, and went up through his liver, lung and ribs.
Dr Cassidy recorded the cause of death was due to gunshot wounds to his trunk. “Any one of these gunshots would have been sufficient to kill him, not just knock him down,” added Dr Cassidy.
Dublin County Coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty directed the jury to return an open verdict.
PA