Clatsop County DA Marquis Says No Grand Jury in Shooting of Ferry By Officer Davidson

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

GoLocalPDX News Team

At a Press Conference with Oregon State Police, Clatsop County District Attorney Joshua Marquis announced there would be no Grand Jury investigation into the shooting of Philip Ferry.

Ferry shoot and killed 13-year police veteran Sgt. Jason Gooding

Here is Marquis comments:

At about 9:20 p.m. on Friday night February 5 in downtown Seaside a wanted 17-time felon named Phillip Ferry was spotted by two uniformed Seaside Police officers. Both officers were familiar with Mr. Ferry and a check revealed an active felony warrant.

As officers tried to detain and arrest him, Ferry shot 39-year-old Seaside Police Sergeant Jason Goodding with a single shot from a semi-automatic pistol resulting in Sgt. Goodding's almost immediate death. The other officer, whom we today identify as Seaside Officer David Davidson, who has been on the Seaside force since late 2012, had at first attempted to use a Taser on Mr. Ferry. After Ferry shot Sgt. Goodding, Officer Davidson fired several rounds from his service weapon striking Mr. Ferry three times. Both Sgt. Goodding and Mr. Ferry were transferred to area hospitals, where both were declared dead.

Under protocols established by Oregon Senate Bill 111 each county has a specific set of rules by which police shootings are investigated. In Clatsop County those protocols call for the District Attorney to name another agency, which in this case was the Oregon State Police, to head the investigation, with participation from other officers of the County's Major Crime Team -- drawn from the other agencies. The agency involved in the shooting contributes a single liaison officer, but does not participate in the SB 111 review. The reason for this is so that there is as much of detached investigation as is possible.

These protocols do not in any way reflect on the ability of the Seaside or any other police department, but are designed to increase public confidence in the ultimate determination regarding the use of police deadly force.

Starting on a 24-hour a day basis the weekend Sgt. Goodding was killed, investigators of the Oregon State Police, many from outside this area, have worked gathering evidence, attending the autopsies, viewing bodycams worn by the officers, and looking into other evidence relevant to the shooting. OSP investigators also interviewed a fourth person who was present and is not likely to be charged.

The purpose of the investigation deals primarily with the shooting of Mr. Ferry. The murder of Jason Goodding was not the primary focus, not because it doesn't profoundly affect us, but because the legal issue is whether the surviving officer was justified in using deadly force.

In Clatsop County, where I have held office since 1994, we do not submit shootings to Grand Juries unless the investigations reveal possible criminal behavior by someone involved in the shooting. Mr. Ferry is dead so he can't be prosecuted.

Today I am here with other members of the Major Crime Team to announce that review of the evidence shows that Officer Davidson was legally and morally justified in using deadly force against Mr. Ferry. There will be no Grand Jury inquiry.

Although aspects of the investigation continue and it may well be a couple weeks before all the reports are in, my opinion, that of my office and the OSP investigators is that there need be no further delay in putting to rest any issue of inappropriate use of force.

I have personally reviewed the body cams of Sgt. Goodding and Officer Davidson, the lengthy interview of Officer Davidson and other evidence, and they all confirm a set of facts I will briefly set out.

While working swing/split shifts on Feb. 5, both Sgt. Goodding and Off. Davidson came across Phillip Ferry, whom they knew. Because of Mr. Ferry's very extensive criminal history (17 felony and 21 misdemeanor convictions since 1983) Sgt. Gooding verified there was a warrant out. He called out, repeatedly to Mr. Ferry by name, identifying himself as a police officer and telling him to take his hands out of his pockets. When Ferry refused and, as it was later determined, kept saying "You ain't going to like it," Sgt. Gooding told him he was under arrest. Off. Davidson deployed his Taser, announcing it and firing it towards Mr. Ferry. As Mr. Ferry seemed to drop to the ground Sgt. Gooding moved in, at which point a single gunshot was fired by Ferry. Sgt. Goodding was wearing a ballistic vest but the bullet came in under the vest. A later autopsy conducted by Oregon State Medical Examiner Karen Gunson determined Sgt. Goodding's injuries were essentially immediate and fatal. Medical intervention could not have saved him.

The shots that struck Mr. Ferry appeared less serious at the scene and Mr. Ferry continued to yell at officers. He was struck in the hand, arm, and buttocks. He was transferred by ambulance to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria where emergency doctors worked on him for about half an hour before pronouncing him dead.

Every piece of evidence, every witness, leads us to the same conclusion -- that Phillip Ferry, with a long history of resisting arrests and assault on police officers, was given every opportunity to surrender peaceably to uniformed officers. He not only refused but made statements that now seem to indicate that he intended to do worse.

The officers repeatedly announced themselves, used less lethal force, and at the time Off. Davidson fired, his partner had been gravely wounded and he had a right to be concerned Mr. Ferry might continue to fire.

Officer Davidson's status with Seaside is for that department to decide, but my office has determined he committed no criminal acts and indeed acted in the best traditions of law enforcement.

Related Slideshow: Crime Trends in Portland - Good News and Bad News

The Portland Police Bureau's Strategic Services Division and the Criminology and Criminal Justice program at Portland State University (PSU) have partnered to provide an interactive tool to provide a longer term look at crime trends.

The interactive data shows the geographic distribution of crime in the city; and reveals insights into crime data.

See key findings below.

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Vandalism has remained relatively consistent for the past five years.

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Gun related crimes decreased 80%.

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Over the 25 years residential robberies are down over 70%.