Salem teen killed in police shootout reveals systemic issues

Think Out Loud

Salem resident Bobby Brown was killed in a shootout with city police in 2022 when he was just 16 years old. As reported in a recent three-part profile published by the Salem Reporter, Brown's birth mother used methamphetamines. When he was born he went into withdrawals and was immediately placed into foster care. He was adopted when he was 4, and later struggled with substance abuse and mental illness, despite repeated efforts by his adopted family to get him help. Reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian joins us to tell us more about Brown's life and how it reflects the gaps in Oregon’s social safety net and mental health treatment system.