SALEM, Ore. – A grand jury in Marion County has ruled that three law enforcement officers were justified and lawful in a deadly shooting incident that occurred in a residential area in Southeast Salem. The incident took place on November 24, and videos released by the Marion County District Attorney’s office provide various angles of the event. The footage includes bodycam videos from Oregon State Police trooper Andrew Tuttle and Salem Police Department Officer John Parmer, while the Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy involved in the incident did not have a body camera.
The videos show 32-year-old Justin Lee Jordan displaying aggressive behavior at his home, including repeatedly hitting and kicking his front door and making threatening gestures toward a camera. In the footage, Jordan is seen going outside and throwing items around his trash can before reentering his home and emerging with what appears to be two guns. A concerned neighbor witnessed Jordan placing a gun to his head and threatening to harm others, prompting the neighbor to call 911.
According to the district attorney’s office, Jordan pointed the gun at neighbors and fired it multiple times, even hitting a woman’s car while she was inside. When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they spent a few minutes trying to persuade Jordan to drop the weapon, but he refused to comply with their commands. Jordan shouted “Kill me” in response to their demands, and he ultimately raised his arm and aimed one of the pistols at the officers.
In response to the imminent threat, Trooper Tuttle, Officer Parmer, and Deputy Mott all fired their weapons, striking Jordan three times in different parts of his body. Jordan succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The autopsy report conducted by the State Deputy Medical Examiner revealed that Jordan’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso, which penetrated his chest, lungs, and heart.
The investigation found that Jordan had fired his gun four times during the incident and had pointed it at neighbors on multiple occasions as well as at the law enforcement officers. The officers fired a total of four rounds, with Officer Parmer firing two rounds, Trooper Tuttle firing one round, and Deputy Mott firing two rounds. Fortunately, no one besides Jordan was injured during the incident.
It is worth noting that Jordan had no prior criminal record. The grand jury’s ruling determined that the actions of the law enforcement officers were justified and lawful given the circumstances they faced.