A 37-year-old man accused of taking out his concealed handgun and pointing it at a crowd of Don’t Shoot Portland and Black Lives Matter protesters last summer encountered a daunting reception from some potential jurors this week.
During jury selection Monday for Michael Aaron Strickland’s trial, at least 10 out of about 30 Multnomah County residents called for jury duty said it’s not smart to ever carry a concealed handgun in public even though the law allows it.
One woman said even if someone tried to rob her at an ATM, she wouldn’t pull out a gun in response because it would only escalate the situation.
In an unusual move, Strickland’s attorneys on Tuesday abruptly asked Judge Thomas Ryan to dismiss all of the prospective jurors. The attorneys told the judge that Strickland instead wanted the judge to decide the case. They didn’t offer any further explanation.
Strickland faces a list of felony and misdemeanor crimes, including unlawful use of a firearm.
Opening statements began shortly afterward, with Strickland’s attorneys contending that their client pulled a Glock semi-automatic handgun on protesters in downtown Portland last July 7 because he felt threatened as masked anarchists armed with flagpoles moved in on him.
Defense attorney Christopher Trotter said protesters aggressively shouted at Strickland that he was a racist. They used profanity as they ordered him to leave, Trotter said.
“He doesn’t argue, he doesn’t fight back,” Trotter said. “He says, “I’m not a racist. Would you like to talk about it?’ He’s very calm.”
Trotter described Strickland as a journalist-videographer who makes his living by documenting such protests. Strickland had a concealed handgun license, Trotter said.
Prosecutor Kate Molina, however, said that no one laid a hand on Strickland or threatened him as he was asked to leave — and there was plenty of space behind him to run if he had been frightened.
Molina said Strickland pointed the gun at at least 10 people. Some of them had formed a human barrier between Strickland and the crowd as Strickland pointed his gun and then put it away, she said.
Hundreds of people, including children, had marched through downtown to protest the deaths of two black men that week in police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana.
“People ran,” Molina said. “People screamed. The evidence will show some people literally dove out of the way of the path of the gun.”
Police arrested Strickland a short while later and found six loaded magazines on him, containing more than 120 bullets.
Last week, Strickland’s attorneys unsuccessfully tried to get his trial moved to another Oregon county, saying they thought the jury pool in Multnomah County had been tainted by negative media coverage of Strickland.
A move also probably would have brought a jury pool more supportive of gun owner rights, attorneys not associated with the case told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
On Monday, the defense attorneys had listened to an afternoon’s worth of juror opinions about guns and self-defense.
When questioned about how many were “generally opposed to firearms,” nine of the people in the jury pool raised their hands. As the discussion progressed, more said they were opposed on some level, too.
“I don’t like them,” one man said.
“I hate them,” said a woman.
Another prospective juror said she thinks guns should be legal only for police and maybe for hunters in remote areas where they’re responsible for getting their own food, such as in Alaska.
Even a few hunters in the group said they only take their guns out for hunting trips, then lock them at home, where they belong.
“I have pretty strong feelings about the type of person who would want to carry a gun around for personal protection,” said one hunter.
“I’m an advocate of guns,” said another hunter. “I like guns, actually. But I think most people, if they have the proper training, they should know when to and when not to pull them out.”
One woman spoke of an unsettling encounter she had with a man she chanced across at a store. When she expressed concern about store safety, the man opened up his jacket, revealed that he was carrying a concealed gun and said something to the effect of “Don’t worry, I would have taken care of him.”
Jason Short, another defense attorney, asked if any of the potential jurors were opposed to using a gun to defend themselves at home or if strangers approached them at an ATM. A few jurors raised their hands.
“I’m just afraid that someone would be killed, and it wouldn’t have happened if the firearm wasn’t there,” said a woman. “I’m just very uncomfortable with a gun coming out.”
A few of the people said the circumstances would have to be truly extreme to warrant using a gun.
“Someone kicks me, I shouldn’t pull a gun out on them,” one said.
Short asked if any of them had ever had to make a split second decision to protect their well-being.
Yes, said one man. He was once attacked and robbed by five people — and he decided not to fight.
“I chose to be a pacifist,” the man said.
When Short asked if the potential jurors felt they could still be fair and impartial despite their personal feelings, almost all said yes.
Strickland’s trial is scheduled to last through the end of this week.
— Aimee Green
agreen@oregonian.com
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