Portland officer says he warned teen not to reach for waist

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A Portland police officer who fatally shot a 17-year-old boy last month testified that he warned the teen several times to keep his hands away from his waist.

According to transcripts released Monday, Officer Andrew Hearst told a Multnomah County grand jury he believed Quanice Hayes’s hand movements were intentional and deliberate.

The Oregonian/Oregon Live reports (https://goo.gl/PDybgE) that Hearst testified he didn’t see Hayes with a gun in his hand when he fired his rifle but said he couldn’t wait until he was sure it was there.

The teen’s mother demanded a Department of Justice investigation last week after the jury declined to indict Hearst on criminal charges in the Feb. 9 shooting.

Portland police have said Hayes used a replica gun to rob a man of his state food benefits card and was trying to break into a car.

Hayes was shot twice in the torso and once in the head. Toxicology results showed numerous drugs in Hayes’ blood.