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Eagle Point, Oregon — A split grand jury decided it would not bring charges against an Eagle Point police officer who fatally shot a mentally ill man in the back after a struggle inside a Carl’s Jr. bathroom.
Officer Daniel Cardenas and his backup CJ Davis were justified in the shooting death of 33-year-old Matthew Thayer Graves because they thought he had a gun, the grand jury decided 5-2.
An officer’s black stun gun that fell to the floor during the struggle showed signs that Graves deployed the nonlethal weapon at the officers at least once.
The stun gun was deployed into Davis’ hands, but Cardenas mistook the black, pistol-shaped stun gun for a firearm.
Officer Davis testified that he communicated that the weapon was a stun gun, but Cardenas testified he believed he heard confirmation of the word “gun” when he unholstered his duty weapon and shot Matthews twice in the back.