Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Portland Police announced big changes Friday in the aftermath of a police shooting of an unarmed suicidal man two weeks ago. Kristian Foden-Vencil reports.

The grand jury that reviewed the case did not indict the officer who shot Aaron Campbell, but afterward released a scorching letter critical of police procedure.

Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman said the grand jury's assessment of the shooting was an indictment of how the incident was handled.

He has asked Chief Rosie Sizer to conduct a full evaluation of police tactics when dealing with high-risk and mentally ill people.

Chief Sizer says officers will immediately begin to partner with mental health workers when responding to crisis calls.

Rosie Sizer: 'Riding together during the hours that we have the greatest number of mental health crisis calls would allow us a capability that we currently don't have."

She says the city is also going to buy 30 ballistic shields.  Those can be used to protect officers who approach someone who has been shot and is on the ground -- but who may still have a gun.