John A. Elifritz's death at the hands of Portland police was his fault alone, city attorneys argue in their first formal response to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his ex-wife and daughter.

The police shooting of Elifritz inside a Southeast Portland homeless shelter followed the 38-year-old's "own criminal, reckless and negligent actions,'' wrote Deputy City Attorney Naomi Sheffield in a legal filing late Monday.

Barbara Elifritz and their daughter, Stormy, the representatives of his estate, sued the city and Portland police in May, alleging police stormed into the CityTeam Ministries shelter with AR-15 rifles and a police dog and used excessive force against Elifritz. His family says Elifritz was experiencing a mental health crisis and posed no threat to the officers.

Elifritz, a suspect in a carjacking, had burst into the shelter on Southeast Grand Avenue armed with a knife on April 7.

"When he was shot, John Elifritz presented no threat to the defendant officers or to anyone else,'' wrote Timothy Volpert, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs.

In response, the city said Elifritz's behavior -- his failure to drop his knife after repeated police commands and his decision to lunge at officers -- led police to shoot and kill him.

Chicago-based civil rights attorney Andrew Stroth, speaking at a City Hall press conference on Wednesday, May 23. Stroth represents John Elifritz's family. With him, from left, are Stormy Elifritz, Barbara Elifritz, Tim Volpert, a local lawyer for the family, and activist Jeff Thomas Black. (Photo by Corlyn Voorhees/Staff)

The city also cited Elifritz's use of methamphetamine that day, his carjacking of an SUV that he then drove dangerously and the cutting of his neck while he was moving erratically around the crowded shelter as examples of his reckless actions.

"City defendants are not at fault in the actions pled by plaintiff because the death of Mr. Elifritz was the sole and exclusive fault of Mr. Elifritz,'' the city's response said.

The family's suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from the city, as well as a request to order the city to halt its alleged policies and practices that encourage the use of unreasonable force, particularly against people suffering from mental health challenges.

Earlier on April 7, Elifritz had called 911 to report that his wife and children were murdered, but police said they learned that his family was OK. Barbara Elifritz and John Elifritz divorced four years ago but resumed a relationship four months before his death.

On that afternoon, police also encountered Elifritz, holding a knife to his throat, but he backed away from them and they decided not to pursue him. Soon after, Elifritz was suspected in an attempted carjacking and then the successful carjacking and a road-rage encounter. He crashed the stolen car before he entered the shelter.

Two Portland officers fired nine sponge-tipped rubber rounds at Elifritz, and five other Portland officers and one county sheriff's deputy fired at least 15 bullets, according to police reports.

Elifritz suffered nine gunshot wounds, including two gunshots to the chest that killed him, an autopsy showed.

The case is before U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian