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The Portland man who was shot and killed by police on Sunday was said to be struggling with a mental illness and was legally blind, his family says.
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Andre Catrel Gladen’s family is struggling to understand the circumstances that led to the 36-year-old man’s death after he was killed by a Portland police officer after falling asleep on a porch of a Southeast Portland home.
According to Oregon Live, Gladen’s sister said he was taking medication for bipolar disorder. Another report, says he also suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, according to his ex-wife. Gladen was also blind in one eye which he lost some five years ago when he was shot in the head with a shotgun, said his twin brother, Fonte Glade.
Gladen was staying with his cousin Diamond Randolph and reportedly left his cousin’s apartment Sunday morning.
“He said, ‘I’ll be back, and then I never heard from him again,” Randolph said.
Gladen somehow ended up at the front door of a stranger’s home around 1 p.m. on Sunday, pounding on the door, barefoot and looking lost and disoriented.
A witness, Desmond Pescaia said Gladen knocked on his door, according to Opb.org, and said someone named “Ernest’’ told him to go to the home for help.
Gladen pleaded to come inside Pescaia’s apartment saying that a man with a white hoodie had been standing on a nearby corner with a gun and he needed to come in so he wouldn’t get shot.
“And [he] knocked on my door two or three more times saying that some guy’s trying to kill him, he’s legally blind, he just wasn’t making sense,” Pescaia said.
Gladen reportedly wouldn’t leave and instead fell asleep on the porch.
By 2p.m. Pescaia’s said his landlord called police. Gladen then reportedly ran inside the home when he saw a police officer arrive.
The officer, identified in reports as Consider Vosu, pursued Gladen inside the home.
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The Shooting
As the officer tried to handcuff him, Gladen reportedly kicked officer Vosu off of him and ran into a bedroom, Pescaia told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an interview.
A struggle ensued and the officer discharged his weapon, shooting Gladen, who was declared dead at a local hospital, police said.
Gladen’s brother believes his brother was only looking for help and shouldn’t have been shot by the officer.
“Why would he fall asleep at someone’s front door?’’ Fonte Gladen said. “This dude wasn’t looking to hurt anybody. … Instead of just getting help for the person, they just kill him.’’