Former Tigard Police Officer Gabriel Maldonado Killed Jacob Macduff During Mental Health Crisis, City Later Paid $3.8 Million Settlement.
Former Tigard Police Officer Gabriel Maldonado shot and killed 26-year-old Jacob Macduff on January 6, 2021, during a police response outside the Edgewood Manor Apartments in Tigard. Macduff’s family and attorneys have said he was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time, while Tigard police initially described the call as involving domestic violence-related allegations and said Macduff was inside a locked pickup truck.
The shooting became one of Tigard’s most controversial police cases after Maldonado resigned from the Tigard Police Department, briefly moved to the Port of Portland Police Department while the shooting investigation was still unresolved, and the City of Tigard later agreed to a settlement worth $3.8 million with Macduff’s mother.
Police Encounter Ended With Fatal Gunfire
According to OPB reporting, Macduff’s roommate, friends, and mother said he was experiencing a mental health crisis. Police were called to the apartment complex, where Macduff was sitting inside a pickup truck and refusing to come out.
During the standoff, officers attempted to remove Macduff from the truck. Maldonado later said Macduff had a knife and repeatedly ignored commands to drop it. However, a later independent review noted that none of the other officers reported seeing the knife, according to Tigard Life.
The independent review sharply criticized the police response, pointing to a lack of planning and communication among officers. The review also raised questions about Maldonado firing additional shots after an initial burst of gunfire, stating that he waited about 18 seconds before firing again into the vehicle.
Criminal Charges Were Not Filed
The Washington County District Attorney’s Office referred the case to the Oregon Department of Justice for review. In September 2021, a Washington County grand jury returned a “not true bill,” meaning the grand jury did not believe criminal charges against Maldonado were warranted. OPB reported that the grand jury declined to indict Maldonado in Macduff’s death.
That decision did not end public concern over the shooting. Macduff’s family continued pushing for answers, accountability, and reforms in how Tigard police handle mental health crisis calls.
Maldonado Resigned, Then Lost Port of Portland Job
Maldonado resigned from the Tigard Police Department on April 15, 2021, after nearly 15 years with the agency. Four days later, he began working for the Port of Portland Police Department, according to Associated Press reporting.
That move drew criticism because the criminal investigation into the shooting had not yet been completed. The Port of Portland later terminated Maldonado’s employment on May 19, 2021, saying he was not eligible for employment while under active investigation. KATU reported that the Port said it would not have offered him the job if it had known the investigation was still open.
$3.8 Million Settlement And Policy Changes
In July 2022, the City of Tigard agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle claims brought by Macduff’s mother. As part of the settlement, the city also agreed to cooperate with an independent review of the shooting and make police policy changes.
The settlement-related reforms included changes involving body cameras, de-escalation training, less-lethal options, and use-of-force policy language, according to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Police Funding Database.
The independent review later concluded that Tigard police should have handled the situation differently and that the department’s response contributed to the fatal outcome. Macduff’s family said the report confirmed their belief that Jacob did not have to die.
Why This Case Matters
The Gabriel Maldonado case is not a conviction story. Maldonado was not criminally charged after the grand jury review. But the case remains significant because a young man in crisis was killed by police, the city paid a multimillion-dollar settlement, and an independent review faulted the department’s tactics, planning, and investigation.
For the public, the case raises the same questions that appear again and again after deadly police encounters: Why did a mental health crisis become a fatal police shooting? Why was there such a rush to force the encounter? And why was an officer able to move toward another police job before the shooting investigation had been completed?
Jacob Macduff’s death left his family demanding accountability. The City of Tigard’s settlement and promised reforms may have addressed some policy issues, but they did not erase the central fact of the case: a police response to a man in crisis ended with Gabriel Maldonado firing the shots that killed him.
