The Gresham cat hostage taking incident occurred on August 21, 1994, and involved an emotionally disturbed 28-year-old woman named Janet Marilyn Smith, who took her own pet Siamese cat hostage in the Fred Meyer store at 2497 East Burnside Road in Gresham, Oregon, United States.
[4] Janet Marilyn Smith was born on June 9, 1966, and moved to Portland, Oregon, with her family in 1973 from Loleta, California, around 15 miles south of Eureka.
[5] Prior to the incident, Smith used to chat about flower pots and gardens with her apartment manager, Gail Geer.
[5] She was seen multiple times at the emergency department of Providence Medical Center in the days before the shooting and had been hospitalized some months earlier.
[4] Smith had apparently been seen at the Fred Meyer store twice the day before the shooting, with cashier Kori S. Ludahl quoted as saying "She was in here twice yesterday.
[7][4] On Sunday, August 21, 1994, before walking to the Fred Meyer store, Smith stood outside her apartment building screaming for help.
[5] Smith then walked to the Fred Meyer store, arriving shortly before 1 p.m. with her pet Siamese cat named "Blue"[5] in her arms, also holding a kitchen carving knife with a six inch blade that tapered to a point.
[6][8][4] Smith said she was thirsty, went down aisle 7 and took a can of President's Choice brand lemon lime soda which she drank while smoking a cigarette.
", while apparently there wasn't any panic by store patrons, with one witness initially thinking Smith's behavior was a prank.
[7] Initially store managers talked to Smith before calling the police,[4] and blockaded the aisle at either end with shopping carts and moved bystanders away.
[5] The public reacted angrily to the shooting of Janet Smith with much criticism, indignation and hostility directed at the Gresham Police department.
"[5] He was put on administrative leave while the Multnomah County District Attorney's office investigated the shooting.
"[4] After a private funeral, Janet Smith was laid to rest at Skyline Memorial Gardens in Portland.
In October 1994, 60 men and women (including nurses, social workers, friends and kin of the mentally ill) came to point out the needs of the mentally ill, to mourn and to protest the recently announced closing of Dammasch State Hospital[11] which closed permanently in 1995.
One protester, Harold H. Kulm, carried a placard with a large picture of Smith with the sign asking "Where were the beds?"
[6] Gall Geer, the manager of Smith's apartment building, received several calls from people inquiring about the cat's well-being.
"[6] Fred Meyer spokeswoman Cheryl Perrin declared that "I think that's human nature to be concerned," and mentioning her children and other people were curious about the cat's well-being.
[6] "Blue" was later returned to Smith's relatives after her grandmother called and asked if they had found the cat, where it was turned to her.
[12] Lerwick himself said that there were inaccuracies in the version of events released to the public because "he failed to ask investigators the right questions".
[12] He also said he made the assumptions based on his experience and observations after the shooting, not from interviews with witnesses or officers involved.
"[12] Lerwick also said "he didn't know why police went around the carts and entered the aisle before calling mental health professionals or trained negotiators.
"[12] The officers also were told not to read newspapers or listen to radio or TV broadcasts, because they would might influence their testimony to the grand jury who investigated the case.
[12] In late August 1994, the Multnomah County grand jury declined to indict Officer Ron Willis on criminal charges for the shooting of Janet Smith.
[8] The grand jury spent only five minutes deliberating and voted 7–0 to clear Officer Ron Willis of the charge of criminal homicide arising from the Smith's shooting.
"The grand jury reviewed the actions of everybody and decided that there's no basis upon which to bring criminal charges against anyone," senior deputy district attorney James J. McIntyre said.
[8] However, had Smith lived she would have faced criminal charges: of threatening an employee who tried to prevent her from entering the store.
[8] It was later revealed that officer Willis wore a bulletproof jacket, but McIntyre noted that a knife could puncture it.