Three weeks after he was shot during a traffic stop, Portland, Or., police officer Christopher Burley is not angry at the man who shot him but wishes the shooter could have gotten the mental health he needed before their encounter, The Oregonian reports. “The community as a whole failed Mr. Otis,” said Burley, referring to Keaton Otis, the mentally ill man who shot him during a traffic stop. “I think it’s something we can all learn from.”
Burley, 31, a former high school teacher, decided to speak about the case at a press conference to “encourage the community to come together and assist those people who are in crisis.” He added, “I was frustrated that Mr. Otis had decided he didn’t want to cooperate with what we were doing. It saddens me that Mr. Otis died.” Otis’ family had tried to get Otis committed, but couldn’t prove he was a danger to himself or others.