Irishman's killing spurs uproar abroad

SILVERTON -- Four days after Andrew Hanlon was shot by a police officer in this tiny Willamette Valley farming community, his death had emerged Friday as the biggest news story in his home country of Ireland.

Halfway around the world, charges of police brutality in small-town America dominated the headlines. And now, with the surfacing of a mysterious audio recording that offers a detailed account of the events, the 20-year-old Irishman's family says his only crime may have been banging on the wrong door.

Silverton police were responding to a burglary call late Monday night when Officer Tony Gonzalez confronted Hanlon on street nearby, yelled a warning and fired. Family members who viewed Hanlon's body at a Silverton funeral home said he had several bullet wounds.

Police and the Marion County district attorney's office confirmed that Gonzalez shot Hanlon but declined to provide details, including whether Hanlon was armed, pending an investigation.

"I can't imagine my brother being armed," said Hanlon's sister, Melanie Heise, who lives in Silverton with her husband, Nathan. "It was a hot night. He was a kid in his bare feet. He couldn't really run away from the police."

Hanlon had been showing symptoms of paranoia and possibly schizophrenia. At times, he came banging on the Heises' door at night, disoriented, delusional and needing a place to sleep, she said.

Melanie Heise believes that Hanlon may have been in the midst of a delusional episode Monday night, taken a wrong turn and scared residents on a different street by hitting and kicking their doors. Neighbors said Hanlon practiced karate. About 40 minutes before the shooting, Hanlon left a phone message asking if the Heises were home, one more indication that he was trying to find their home when he was killed.

Hanlon, known to friends as AJ, came from Ireland to the United States last summer and stayed illegally after his visa expired. He had a small apartment in Silverton and worked odd jobs, including busing jobs at a local restaurant.

"He stayed because he wanted to go on a big road trip to see the rest of America and never thought he would have a chance to come back," said friend Ariel Burton, one of about 100 people who protested the shooting outside the police station Wednesday.