The Normandale Park Shooting: Pt. 1

0:02 Daja reflected that it seemed like he was trying to manufacture a stand your ground type scenario. I was gonna say, I've been thinking it just seems like he just wants he just wants something bad to happen. With statements like make me and let's do this. They're saying no, let's not do this. Yeah. Literally, she said it. Really, it just felt to me like he was a bomb. Hi, Cassie, Hi, Caitlin, Hi, creepy people.

0:43 Hello, Hello. This is PNW Hans and Homicides where we chat about true crime, the paranormal and all things spooky in the Pacific Northwest or the PNW. It nasty, and we do terror reading at the end of every episode for a little deeper insight into our topic. That's the thing. I said that really fast. It kind of sounded like I said, terror terror reading. For terror reading, we do terror cards. We do witchcraft here if you don't like it, scadetto boy. We also slip into English accents that are probably terrible, but we can't help it.

1:24 Sometimes I think that we get a little bit confused because there are so many parts of the world that speak with some iteration of a British accent. Yes, you know, and we're not making fun, we're appreciating. No, we love it. So anyway, any who's all? Benjamin Jeffrey Smith was born on November twenty eighth, nineteen seventy eight in Concord, Massachusetts, and grew up in Indiana before relocating to Portland, Oregon as an adult. Ah, was he nasty? Yeah? Mm hmm, yeah, it's pretty nasty. Around that same time is when he began getting involved in the furry community.

2:11 Hold up, what Yeah, I wouldn't get excited about it. I want a furry episode. I mean, this is so interesting. Oh, I mean we're only going to talk about it for like five seconds. Man, I got so invested, Okay, I know, adopting the persona of a small male bunny and the nickname Polly Bunn or Polyhead. According to a tweet posted by Drake dus Sheep, the alias Polly Bunn was one of the original founders of the hashtag baby fur irc channel on furnt Oh.

2:51 Oh if I like that. It's a whole string of words that didn't mean a lot to me at the start of this. Had to had to do a little bit of digging I would imagine. So, yeah, I don't know what any of that means, but yeah, yeah, yeah. As a gay man and practicing furry, he's probably one of the last guys you'd expect to get red pilled. But from there it's a pretty predictable tale of misogyny and hate in the most heinous forms. He also filled down the rabbit hole of COVID conspiracy theories and became staunchly anti mask.

3:32 Wait did you do that on purpose? What? I fell down the rabbit hole because he dressed like a bunny? Oh? I didn't. I think rabbit hole is just like, yes, it's just it's so it's so extremely associated with this case. I feel like in ways that aren't going to be clear at this point other than the obvious. But that's pretty funny though. Okay. Throughout Lockdown, he was chronically online complaining about the Black Lives Matter movement and Antifa and spewing anti Semitic rants. Hmm my favorite.

4:13 He was enraged by protests in the city of Portland. According to a former roommate, he believed that extreme violence, rather than peaceful protest, was the only way of making oneself heard. He hated protests about racial violence and injustice in particular. Why remember how we talked about the red pill. The city of Portland made headlines all over the country for a number of them that took place during the pandemic, and you may have heard the city being mentioned again recently by the Cheeto and Chief. Oh I hadn't heard. It's a lawless place, yes, So let's talk about public demonstrations dissentarticularly those aimed at peaceful community action. Corking is the practice of protecting marchers from traffic by placing one's car, bike, or body to create a physical barrier near intersections and cross streets. Okay, I was able to observe several minutes of footage with detailed explanations of how the practice is designed to keep the community moving safely. Corking, it's important to note, is a volunteer action for protecting those participating in peaceful protests or demonstrations. Both words are used kind of interchangeably in some context. I feel like it can

5:44 be helpful to say demonstration as opposed to protests, because the connotation just can be very different. Right, Yeah, but I digress. The term should not be confused with kettling. A police crowd control tactic where officers surround and contain a group of demonstrators. That brings us to my new hyper focus and obsession, forensic Architecture, And I promise there's a good reason I'm talking about it, because I'm going to talk about it for a minute. And you might think that I've gone insane, and you're not entirely wrong, but I do have a good reason. Just you just felled on a rabbit hole. Hap me out.

6:25 It's a rabbit hole thing. Forensic Architecture is a research agency based at Goldsmith's University of London that investigates human rights violations using architectural and media analysis. The organization has received awards like the Right Livelihood Award otherwise known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, and a Peabody Award for co creating an entire new academic field and emergent media practice. That sounds super impressive. It pretty much is. Their apartment smells of rich mahogany and many leather bound books.

7:10 I like the Alternative Nobel Peace Prize right. Their work has even been admitted as evidence in legal processes in various jurisdictions, including the US, UK and other parts of Europe as well as Israel and South America. Wow. Yeah, they've got a lot. Of really interesting stuff coming out of Israel and Ukraine right now. So I bet yeah. Wow. Really really highly suggest obviously for the purposes of time management and adulting. I've only been able to dive into so many of their different resources, but really really highly recommend if you're interested in checking it out that you do.

8:02 They're basically a badass globe trotting organization that uses digital three D modeling for human rights investigation and documentary purposes. Oohoo, that's cool. Yes, you know when you see those shitty three D model reenactments in I mean all kinds of documentaries, you know, these are not that they are impressive, and I was pretty fucking excited. Nice. As an organization operating in a highly sensitive area, they have faced criticisms regarding their methodologies and potential bias, particularly in context of political conflicts, and I think that's fair.

8:53 We should examine organizations in these types of spaces critically. Yeah yeah yeah. Though in this case such criticism has largely come from NGO Monitor, which has itself been criticized by academic figures diplomats and journalists, for allowing its research and conclusions to be driven by politics, for not examining far right NGOs, which is a string of words that you shouldn't they don't. I didn't like it, Nope, And for spreading misinformation. NGO Monitor is a Jerusalem based organization that promotes largely pro Israel viewpoints. The leader of the organization has ties to the Israeli government, having served as a consultant. Curiously, this and other similar information has been omitted from his official profiles that are published in English, of course, and I'm done obsessing over I had to really look into this because I was like, for forensic architecture is so cool.

10:02 That is really cool, But I. Need to know, like what is like the legitimacy of this, because the last thing that I want to do is think that I've come across something that is shining a light and it's really just like, you know, shitting into a I don't know, I don't know. No, I don't even know a three D model. Yeah, should he into a three D model? Yeah? Yeah, exactly. But I'm providing so much context on the background of the organization and maybe it's overkilled, but it's because I think not only is what forensic architecture doing really remarkable, but their resources were so helpful. It was invaluable to me. Oh nice in the research for this case. Everything that I'm going to talk about, they did a three D rendering of and or they have actual footage and that's a lot of what that documentary piece is based on. They have like actual like you can describe it like bodycam footage.

11:17 Oh okay, yeah, I'm interested to see, like what what is this because like I don't exactly know what this is yet. I want to see like how how how is it used? I really I think I would really like actually for the two of us to like watch a portion of it, okay, and you're going to already know the case, so we don't even have to watch the whole thing. Although it's only like I think thirty six minutes. I only say watch part of it because it's not an easy watch because of the bodycam footage and it's they've they've done really well to kind of clip in places where where it's like based on what's occurring. It's graphic and it's violent, but it's not gratuitous. It's all done very clearly, to make the details clear and to drive home certain points.

12:13 But it's all done in a way that it's it's not, like I said, gratuitous. But yeah, the further you get into it, the harder it gets to watch. Yeah, I can imagine. Yeah. On the evening of February nineteenth, twenty twenty two, there was a demonstration scheduled to take place starting off at Normandale Park in Portland. That evening, a group of support workers were gathered on the west side of the park in preparation for a Black Lives Matter march. They were helping to coordinate. The demonstrators were marching in recognition of the deaths of a mere Lock of Minnesota and Patrick Kimmons from Portland, Oregon. A mere Lock was a twenty two year old black man who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer executing a no knock warrant, though a mirror was not the subject of or named in the warrant. Okay, they no longer do that type of warrant in UH Minnesota anymore.

13:14 I can't imagine why. Yeah, on face value, you can understand the benefit of executing a warrant and like not letting that person. It's like when police show up at a scene without sirens. Okay, you have like a tactical advantage there, but like once you breach you know, a dwelling or other building, that person, for all they know, they are literally having to take their own like life, their own self defense into their hands. I was gonna say, that just seems like a good way to get shot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, And unfortunately it has that that has proven to be.

13:57 The case over and over and over and over again. Actually, Patrick Kimmins was a twenty seven year old black man killed by Portland police during a twenty eighteen altercation. The circumstances of that shooting have at times been hotly debated as part of an intense discourse about policing and racial injustice. Forensic Architecture used a three D model of the Normandale Park and surrounding neighborhood to illustrate the events of that day. Their models are intended to be measurable by the millimeter. WHOA, So I'm just going to jump into a series of events and introduce the people involved based on the timeline of the night.

14:41 Okay, I'm gonna get cozy here, Okay, get co say, not because I'm like comfortable with what's happening, but because, yeah, because I need to uh get I need to be comforted. Yes, I'm not comfortable. I need comforted. I need comforting. Yeah, no, that's fair. Pilton arrived at seven pm at Normandale Park, followed by Desia, who got there at approximately seven fifteen, and the crowd really hadn't begun to gather yet. By seven twenty four. Another corker named Dag arrived and parked next to June's car.

15:22 The protective people. Yes, so for concret Yeah, I mean, I'm sure in some contexts that kettling can serve a purpose, but I just felt like, in the context of this case, it's important that we create distinctions between certain groups. So for context, all of these kind of support workers related to the demonstration. They were on the opposite end of the park from where all of the marchers were going to be. Okay, because typically you have like your corkers, they're kind of a big part of like the support team. They're kind of on the back end.

16:09 Okay, that makes sense, Yeah. Because they're what they're trying to avoid is what has happened in some of like the worst viral videos about protests where people just come up behind a group that's marching and just plow through them. That type of thing. Yeah, I hate that. Daike's arrival was shortly followed by another fellow corker, Hank at seven twenty eight, who was among the last of the group to arrive and park next to June's vehicle on the opposite side. I just thought it was really funny. Hank was like, I was like one of the last show up because I'm always late. Sounds like us. Yeah. By seven thirty one PM, a crowd was gathered on the opposite side of the park for the march, scheduled to begin at eight pm. Smith, who we introduced as at the very Top, first approached the group of quarkers at around seven thirty one pm. He asked a strange question, how long are you going to be here?

17:12 He wanted to confirm the itinerary, presumably which when he was informed that the march was scheduled to begin at eight, he checked the time and walked away from the group. Cass, a street medic amongst the group, said their pre meet for the march was at around seven forty pm. Hope, a volunteer armed guard, said he wasn't aware of anyone else on the organizer team that was openly carrying that night. Hope said they were specifically wearing a badge indicating their role as another street medic, so openly carrying in the sense that they were in no way openly carrying and their duties were clearly designated as a medic.

17:59 Okay. At the pre meet, Desa informed the group of a change in their route taking them past unhoused neighbors. And I love this nomenclature because why can't we use language to lead with love neighbors? Neighbors? Yeah, I mean they are, Yeah, We're all neighbors, whether you like it or not. Yeah, I mean their intention was to keep things relatively quiet in the neighborhood. Right as the group was embarking on the march, Desa and Pilton shared a heartfelt moment. This was just such a close community of people. Todd and Hank were talking as they were preparing to leave, and that's when they saw someone standing by a street light that was out. That's creepy, like super ominous, the single creepiest visual that I can summon. At the moment. Yeah, the man appear unhappy about their presence. The group on the opposite end of the park was alerted by organizers that the march was beginning. Hope stowed their weapon in the trunk of their vehicle as they began hearing raised voices. Yeah, enter an angry, swearing caveman, who was informed that the group was leaving, the organizers leading with attempts to de escalate any brewing situation. So they're like, we're dude, we're leaving.

19:30 We're out of here, like it's all good, he responded. If I ever see you again, I'm going to shoot you in the head. Jus Deja reflected with the forensic architecture team that she shared with June's wife, she knew basically immediately this was not an individual that could be de escalated. That individual was Benjamin Jeffs free Smith. She began recording after about twenty to thirty seconds of the situation, seemingly beginning to quickly escalate.

20:11 Okay, that good idea, right, like, yeah, get that shit recorded. Absolutely absolutely, and I think normally once they actually take off on the march, she typically did just run her camera. Oh okay, yeah, so she was prepared, okay. The forensic architecture piece then shows some of the footage she captured that evening, beginning at seven point fifty seven pm. Smith then begins to exhibit more physical force in the conflict, beginning by aggressively approaching one of the organizers and then fully charging at them. Geez, he has warned off, that's assault and I don't want to fight with you. Just go home. Remember that he's already been informed that they are leaving, and the organizers already beginning to posture to file out as they were literally scheduled to do. Deja reflected that it seemed like he was trying to manufacture a stand your ground type scenario.

21:19 I was going to say, I've been thinking it just seems like he just wants he just wants something bad to happen. With statements like make me and let's do this. They're saying no, let's not do this. Yeah, literally, she said it really it just felt to me like he was a bomb. She called save walkie talkies. She called we need de escalation on the corner of the park immediately where the cars are parked. Immediately other organizers were approaching from the opposite side of the park in response. It was almost immediately after that that he brandished the web and quickly firing multiple shots on the group at close range.

22:05 Calls went out to others in the group. Gunshots, gunshots, gunshots. It was at seven fifty eight that Desia called for de escalation. Then within a matter of seconds, he fired several shots, and in the interim, June had stepped up to him. She was probably one of the oldest in the group, and she had physically put herself between him and several others and just was like, this is done.

22:46 You need to just go home. The guard within the organizers was able to return fire within seven seconds of the gunman's initial shot. So remember this is he's literally put his weapon in the trunk of his vehicle. At this point, I'm through twenty three minutes of just under thirty seven minutes in total. That have been a very difficult watch. The guard Hope fires twice in response. The shots of the two weapons were indistinguishable to those present at northeast fifty fifth and Hasselo Street at the southwest corner of Normandale Park that night. Smith responded to the armed guard Hope when questioned about the whereabouts of his gun in the aftermath, pointing toward his left angle as he lay on the ground, and stated, it's right there, but I wish I still had it so that I could put it in my mouth.

23:46 You should have done that first. That would have been super a lot better for a lot of people. Hope ensured that the weapon was removed from his immediate access. Cass quickly began rendering aid. Today and Pike, another medic who stated he'd been shot in the head. She was shocked to realize when she looked up that there was a hole in his beanie, and she thought to herself, so you have. And obviously that poor medic was bleeding pretty profusely. When police arrived at the scene, the mood was very tense. Understandably, I think it was a Black Lives Matter protest. Yeah, the street medic Cass spoke with officers stating, I'm an EMT. Six people have been shot. Can I go back to treating my patients. Video footage of Deja screaming at the officers that they needed help. This is the part that I started really ugly crying. It's pretty heart wrenching. That was at about eight ten pm. Cass was given the go ahead to continue trying to administer aid to the injured.

25:02 Officers approached Ali, who had been shot multiple times, asking questions as she sat, likely in shock in every sense of the word, still seated in her vehicle. Cast told officers she's been shot four times. You don't need to interview her right now. She needs medical attention. And it's not uncommon for them to try to interview up until the point that EMS arrives and they're just trying to get as much information as they can. Yeah, that's understandable to a point, but when you see it from the other side, of course, it feels very dispassionate. Especially when someone's been shot that many times, like they're hurting.

25:46 Or you know like yeah yeah, yeah, like my mind isn't even working. I'm just frustrated right now. Yeah, I mean, just the idea of the situation is enough to kind of make you just go like non verbal and just. Like like like you just need to comfort somebody in that state, like not like maybe sit there and talk to them, maybe not just like bombard them with questions. I don't know. Yeah, it's it's tough because you got to thread the needle, right, I mean, especially someone that's been shot multiple times. You're like, well, we want to get the information so that we can find a person that did this. In case they passed. Yeah, I mean, and that's that's an awful thought in that moment.

26:29 Well, I just feel like there's some way for training to happen to where like these things can be possible for like sensitivity and getting information. Like you don't think there's some sort of way. Maybe maybe I don't know. I'm not a professional. Yeah, whatever, Yeah, there's a lot of whatever. The first ambulance arrived at eight fourteen PM, and Cass attempted to share what she had observed so far in terms of those that were injured. At that point, she was grabbed by an officer who responded, I don't care when she said she was an EMT, this is a homicide investigation.

27:10 If you don't get off the scene, you're going to be arrested. Only people actively treating, actively engaged in medical treatment can be on here. And she was escorted away. Wasn't that what she was doing or no? Crazy? I mean it was okay, it was to that point, So yeah, it's hard to say. June t Rex nightly t REGs, who was shot in the head at close range, died on the scene that night as a result of her injuries. Others that were wounded received medical attention in the wake of the emergency response to the horrific shooting, including none other than Smith himself, who had been shot in both the lower abdomen and bowel.

27:59 He's the shooter, he sure is, and. I gotta say, for my money, hopes it. Hope's a good shot. Yeah. He fired two shots and they both landed. Hell yeah, I really hate that this is where part one ends. Oh, I told you it was gonna get a lot worse. It's hard to say that because nothing about this is good and I hate to even try to like categorize, but I want to know what happens to everybody else. Yeah, So June passed. June passed away at the scene, and she was the elderly woman.

28:44 Yes. Yeah, she actually became involved with the group and started quirking after she saw a BLM march coming through her neighborhood and she decided to get involved. Gosh, she took her job so seriously that she did. She stepped in front of a gun for people. Yeah, and at that point, she was not aware that this man was armed, right, but I mean, somebody behaving erratic and. Violence, there's always a chance. There's always that possibility. And if it's not a gun, it could be a knife. Or she was quirking, perfecting. Yeah, I have a feeling that she's maybe not the only person.

29:33 Yeah. Well, join us next week for more devastating fucking news from Jalen. I'm so sorry. I know we always say it though. It's really important to talk about these things, so that's why we research it and present it to you in a form that maybe hopefully you like to listen to. Yeah, so you get the info. Yeah, and hey, I did lead with the you know, the stuff about the the bunny, whatever that's worth. I was really excited when you started talking about furries. I was like, furry crimes. Here we go, let's go. I'm into it. I'm sorry, I can. I can take a run at finding something maybe a little bit more lighthearted.

30:16 I want some furry I want some furry shenanigans. Okay, I'll see what I can do cover la boo boo boo furries. That's got it there already. I was like, that's gotta be a thing. I mean, there already is puddles already done. Come on, man, give it the times, puddles of feathery and a furry Oh. Yeah, well should we do our taro? Yeah? All right, We've got kind of an automny pumpkin ey vibe for the altar. And this is four part one and you've already shuffled the deck and put our powers that be into it. And I'm gonna guide Kitlan's little fingies with my mind. Here, she's gonna pick the perfect card.

31:11 Feel my mind in your mind right now? Any of the cards feel like a different temperature, vibrate? Yeah, that's what I thought too. Oh really? Yeah? Wow? I mean, who would know if I was full of shit? King of cups? Okay, okay, that's not when we get all the time, but a frequent here. Do you want me to set it out on the altar? Oh? Yes, sorry, I'm a tight adult. Look at it real quick. Okay, it's a sea turtle. You're I love that it's got like purply purply vibes. It matches kind of like our coloring. You've got like blue and green, and I've got purple and green. Oh yeah, you pulled it in the upright, it looked like to me.

31:54 Yeah, okay, So King of Cups keywords are benevolent, culture, creativity, emotional warmth, and protection. Ah, protection, And all I can think is what you said about I'm going to be thinking about June. For part one one. I was thinking about you. In many decks, this king sits on a throne and wears rich garments and a crown. He usually appears as a benevolent authority, a father figure who rules kindly and fairly. In a reading, the King of Cups may signify an actual person when he does. It's generally a mature man who's cultured and knowledgeable in the arts.

32:42 And we've talked about this before. In Taro they say like man and woman, and they really kind of mean like a male energy or a female energy. Yeah, and I don't I was you ing a female? I don't really know if yees? Okay, I mean technically maybe who knows what they went by. It really in their hearts? Ye, I don't really know, but sure so. But I kind of was getting like a like a more of a male vibe from June, like a protector sort of vibe. Not to say like I don't know. Yeah, you guys get what I'm trying to say, Like a masculine this is so interesting. When the King of Cups appears upright, he represents strong emotions and creative talent. If he represents a real person, it's someone who wants to be loved and admired. He may go to great lengths to gain your attention and affection.

33:36 Although he's easily hurt, he may not show it and can hold a grudge. He can be rather indulgent and controlling, but his friends can count on his support and protection. Who part of that though kind of reminds me of like the bad side. Yeah, it's kind of almost like the flip side, although I could see someone who's like kind of the old this person in the group kind of being like. We're going to do it this way, Yeah, a little bit. And like controlling doesn't necessarily have to be like abusive like a planner. Ye, but I'm also thinking about it as like in terms of the. It can be representing energy for more than one person.

34:18 Yeah, like the man who was being aggressive and things like feelings easily hurt, could hold a grudge if you're not like a good positive person like maybe June was. You could have these similar vibes, but like you could be totally different people. Yeah, like the outcomes are totally different. One's a protector and one is a murderer. Right, one of you is June and one of. You is BJS. One of you is a piece of shit. Literally, BJ's blow drops Benjamin Jeffrey. It's too nice the thing for him to be named after. I get good vibes when I hear BJ. I don't want to think about this guy. And I had to be graphic or cruel. Ah, But he that that may have It could.

35:05 Be that his current role in life has a lot to do with that. Oh, okay, enough said. In a reading about money, the king can mean receiving money through a creative venture, or it may suggest your emotions are influencing a financial matter. Sometimes it represents a financial backer. If the rating is about your job, the king can describe a creative occupation. However, he may indicate your longing for something better, perhaps you've grown complacent. In a question about love, this card represents a deeply emotional, committed, and romantic relationship. It can suggest jealousy and possessiveness. However, or a need for more trust and openness. I feel like there needs to be like more trust and openness with the like the police and the protesters and things like that. You know, it's funny though, because like the first part of that actually makes me think of June and her partner just in terms of the deeply emotional, committed and romantic relationship. Listen, people are complicated mammals, and some of them are good and some of them are less, So I think makes sense.

36:37 Yeah, I think that was a good card. Yeah. I think what you said too about like being complacent, like maybe just you know kind of what we were talking about, Like it doesn't affect you, so you know, right first they came forth, Yeah, exactly, you knew what I was talking about. Yeah, we had a little bit of a off mic covers about. Oh I thought that was on mic. It wasn't. Oh I'm getting on I'm getting my life mixed up. That was during their snack breaks. Oh well, we were talking about complacency, yeah, a little bit, and fascism and Nazi Germany. A little light snacking conversation, just like a super light combo.

37:20 That's funny that. I like didn't even realize conversations. Ties is. Effortless. It's so seamless that Yeah, I mean, like these people who are organizing protest and demonstrations, like they're not being complacent, right, and they're a lot of the like creativity, you still need like a lot of creativity to organize those things. And yeah, absolutely tying more shit into the car. Yeah. I don't know. Part of me was nervous about this case a little bit because certainly it centered around more than one politically charged topic. But I feel like, I don't know, hot take here. Maybe don't kill people on the street for no reason on either side. Yeah, I just just probably don't do that.

38:14 Can we not shoot people anymore? Can you not? Anyway? Guns are bad? Okay? O? God? Yeah, wait, we need to do the outro. We don't have an outro any Oh it's kidding. I forgot. Okay, I'm a human being. Have a creepy day. We'll see you next Tuesday, unless you're a fucking. Murderer, and then we'll see a never loser. Get the fuck out of here. You're not going shopping with us on Tuesdays. You wear orange because you're in prison jumpsuit?

38:56 Get it? I thought that was pretty clever. What does red pill mean? Red pill is like when people go, all right, psycho misogynist. Okay, I just want to double check. You said it to me earlier, and I assume that's what I meant. Like now you're saying it and I'm being recorded, so I just want. To yeah, no, that's fair. Yeah cut that out. You did. Sometimes I think about that though, I'm like, oh, like I wonder if but I'm like, if I stop to explain every I'm like, I feel like it's like in the zeitgeist, but it's different when you're the person that's like, we're the ones talking about it. It's like we should be on the same page. Like if they don't get it, they can google it. You don't know, Yeah, all right,