Clarification: Some answered questions in the Poot shooting

A May 1 opinion column (“The two unasked questions in the Poot shooting”) raised some questions regarding the death of Jose Mejia Poot at the hands of the Portland Police while being held at the BHC-Pacific Gateway Hospital. The article inquired into the whereabouts of the family during the incidents preceding the shooting.

According to an article published in The Oregonian April 4, Poot’s father Pedro Mejia Zumarraga visited the hospital during his son’s stay to provide a physician’s name and medicine for Poot’s epilepsy. However, hospital staff could not understand Poot’s father and did not allow him to see his son.

The family also spoke to Poot by phone three hours before police killed him.