POLICE NAMED IN WRONGFUL-DEATH SUIT

Civil Rights - a Well-Known Attorney Takes on a Case in Which a
Portland Man Was Shot Seven Times

The family of Fouad Kaady, a 27-year-old Portland man shot and killed
by police a year ago today on a rural Clackamas County highway, has
hired high-profile, flamboyant attorney Gerry Spence of Wyoming to
argue a wrongful-death lawsuit in federal court.

Kaady was naked, burned and bleeding when he was shocked with a stun
gun then shot by Officer William Bergin of the Sandy Police Department
and Deputy David Willard of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

The 31-page lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, names the
city of Sandy, Clackamas County and the two officers and seeks
monetary damages in an amount to be determined at trial for civil
rights violations, excessive force, unconstitutional arrest and
wrongful death.

Willard and Bergin shot the unarmed man seven times. A Clackamas
County grand jury heard testimony from at least 40 witnesses and
decided against bringing charges against the two. Additionally, the
Clackamas County Sheriff's Shooting Review Board and a review by the
Sandy Police Department found that Willard and Bergin acted
appropriately. Both have returned to duty.

Kaady's family and friends bitterly criticized the grand jury's
decision and insist he had no history of mental illness and did not
take hard drugs. They think his behavior was caused by the shock of
being badly burned in a car wreck about a half-hour before the shooting.

"There is no doubt in my mind that this was not a justifiable
shooting," said Portland attorney Michelle Burrows, who also will
argue the case with Spence's son, Kent Spence.

Burrows said main arguments in court will be handled by Gerry Spence,
who has represented high-profile clients such as white separatist
Randy Weaver and Brandon Mayfield, a Portland attorney who was jailed
for two weeks in 2004 after his fingerprint was mistakenly linked to
terror bombings in Madrid, Spain.

Spence -- who often sports a black felt hat and leather-fringed,
buckskin jacket -- made national headlines in 1984 after winning a
$10.5 million settlement for the estate of Karen Silkwood, an Oklahoma
plutonium worker.

Lawyers for the Clackamas County counsel's office are ready to take on
the case.

"We feel sorry for the family, but we believe this is a very
defensible case, and we will fight it," said Ed McGlone, an attorney
with the office.

Scott Lazenby, Sandy's city manager, said city officials have been
instructed not to discuss pending litigation.

In the official police report, a detective speculated that Kaady's
bizarre behavior before the shooting may have been caused by "excited
delirium," a rare but often deadly medical condition associated with
illegal drug use, mental illness or injury, experts say.

People with the condition commonly display incredible strength, are
impervious to pain, growl like an animal, are aggressive and take off
their clothing because they become superheated.

Clackamas County prosecutors confirmed that Kaady had traces of THC,
the active ingredient in marijuana, in his system.

Shortly before he died, Kaady smashed his car into three other cars on
Southeast Bluff Road. Callers told 9-1-1 dispatchers he was combative
and had assaulted a man who went to help him.

The lawsuit claims that both the sheriff's department and Sandy police
have cultures that encourage officers "to taser and/or 'shoot first,'
a pattern of repeated serious violations of the constitutional rights
of citizens."

The suit claims Kaady was not presenting any "objective danger." It
seeks damages for burial and memorial services; general damages for
depriving his civil rights; monetary losses to his estate, including
the loss of earnings; pain and suffering; punitive damages; and
attorney fees.

"Every holiday, every birthday is hard," said Kaady's sister, Andrea
Kaady. "His death was a huge earthquake, and the aftershocks will go
on forever."

A memorial service marking the one-year anniversary of Kaady's death
will be at 11 a.m. Sunday at the St. George Antiochian Orthodox
Christian Church, 2101 N.E. 162nd Ave.