Federal Officials Close the Investigation into the Death of Aaron Campbell

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department announced that there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers involved in the fatal shooting of Aaron Campbell.

Officials from the department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon and the FBI met with Campbell’s family and their representatives to inform them of this decision.

Under the applicable federal criminal civil rights laws, prosecutors must establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a law enforcement officer willfully deprived an individual of a constitutional right, meaning with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids. Neither accident, mistake, fear, negligence nor bad judgment is sufficient to establish such a criminal violation. After a careful review of the facts, a team of experienced federal prosecutors determined that the evidence was insufficient to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the law enforcement personnel who fired at Campbell acted willfully, meaning with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids.

The Justice Department is committed to investigations of allegations of excessive force by law enforcement officers and will continue to devote the resources required to ensure that all allegations of serious civil rights violations are fully and completely investigated.