Man shot by police had a plan: to find mental health services

After taking the bus from Texas, Daniel Kahn sent a text to his uncle letting him know he had arrived.

“I’m in Eugene,” Kahn wrote just after 6 p.m. on July 11, a Friday. “The weather is great.”

At 38, Kahn traveled alone but with purpose. In Texas, mental illness had led to prolonged periods of homelessness and a life of near-constant struggle, said his father, Mort Kahn.

Daniel brought with him to Oregon a step-by-step plan to find support services for the unhoused and, his family hoped, something that had proven elusive in his home state: consistent mental health treatment.

“This was meant to be a starting point,” Mort Kahn said in an email. 

Instead, Daniel Kahn died July 30, shot in a drive-through car wash after being chased on foot by police officers, as seen in bystander video. Springfield police say Kahn earlier stabbed two officers, both of whom survived.

The plan for Daniel failed to safeguard him from crisis, but it’s unsurprising someone from outside the state in need of help would struggle, a longtime local service provider said. A recent community assessment report cited a “[l]ack of services for people in crisis, mental health, addiction services, and services for the homeless” as contributing to a “lack of safety in Lane County.”

Daniel’s problems made a bleak outcome predictable, according to Mort Kahn.

In a statement soon after the shooting, he said he forgave the officers involved in taking his son’s life and called Daniel’s death “inevitable,” given his history as a “potentially very violent person.” In Texas, Daniel spent more than two years in a Houston jail before pleading guilty to felony aggravated assault.

Yet despite Daniel’s struggles, he also had periods of success, Mort Kahn told Lookout Eugene-Springfield.

“Daniel thrived when he was properly medicated and given guidance by mental health experts,” Kahn said in an email.

Instructions for the journey

In Texas, Daniel’s uncle and his uncle’s colleague — someone who successfully managed his mental illness — had counseled Daniel on making the journey to Oregon, Mort Kahn said.

They prepared for Daniel a four-page document listing the names, phone numbers and websites of places in Lane County to find shelter and other help. Mort Kahn provided the document to Lookout Eugene-Springfield.

The document told Daniel to call ahead to shelters before getting on the bus, and then upon arrival to go to an intake appointment at The Hub, a clinic at the Dawn to Dawn shelter in Eugene.

“He liked the plan,” Daniel’s uncle said in an email. “He didn’t like living on the streets in Dallas or Houston. It was so hot and dangerous.”

Danel’s uncle requested to not be named in this story.

“He was mainly hopeful. He wanted stability, a place to live,” Daniel’s uncle said.

But in Lane County, those who work with the unhoused describe a long wait for many services, as capacity has failed to keep up with growing demand.

“Our community is not going to provide, be able to provide, quick and easy access to resources,” said James Ewell, homelessness and community action manager for Lane County’s Human Services Division. “I think that’s been a misconception that’s been around for a long time.”

Unhoused arrivals

Service providers who are contractors with Lane County ask questions of those receiving help, Ewell said. The information is tracked in what’s known as the Homeless Management Information System.

Ewell said he hears some claim — in Eugene and elsewhere — that the local unhoused population is fueled by people from outside the area seeking help, like Daniel Kahn. But, in responses to the survey questions, a large majority of people say they lost their housing in Lane County, Ewell said.

“We added a question in 2023 that says, ‘Where were you living when you lost housing?’” Ewell said.

The percentages have been consistent, with “right around 20% of folks saying that they are not from Lane County, or that they lost their housing outside of Lane County and came here after becoming homeless,” Ewell said.

Daniel’s uncle said the choice of Eugene for Daniel’s destination “was partly about the weather and avoiding big cities.”

“If he had to live in the street then he might as well live some place temperate. He seemed to do worse in big cities,” Daniel’s uncle said in an email.

Finding shelter

Finding shelter in Eugene isn’t easy for the unhoused, Ewell said.

The county publishes a bed tracker that, on a recent September day, showed a total of 25 beds available at local shelters. The Eugene Mission, with a capacity of roughly 350 beds, had the most open beds at 14. In Lane County, there are about 1,100 shelter beds, based on 2024 data.

An annual one-night count done in January found 3,509 people experiencing homelessness in Lane County. About 2,000 of them lacked “formal” shelter, including about 200 staying in sanctioned vehicle or “rest stop” camping locations.

“The vast majority of folks that are going to want to be seeking shelter on a given night are not going to be able to access it because there’s not enough beds for them,” Ewell said.

Daniel, at least for a time, stayed at a shelter in Eugene, though Mort Kahn said he knows little else about the weeks before his son was shot.

Service providers in Lane County asked about Daniel declined to comment, citing privacy protection laws. 

Mort Kahn said police shared information about Daniel’s belongings.

“The detective told me as far as he knew the only thing Daniel had on him were some self-made bracelets, a piece of paper indicating that he may have been at the Eugene Mission at 1542 W. First Ave., Eugene, OR 97402; and his cell phone, which I requested whenever the police death investigation is finally completed,” Mort Kahn said in an email.

Lane County District Attorney Christopher Parosa confirmed to Kahn that his son stayed at Eugene Mission, but had “moved out” prior to the shooting. The whereabouts of Daniel’s other belongings are unknown, Mort Kahn said.

Seeking help

Other care providers said those new to the area make up only a small percentage of those seeking help, though it does happen.

“I personally have had the experience, as a clinician, of conducting assessments for services for several people who come from out of state who believed they would be provided better care or more services in Eugene,” Amée Markwardt, executive director of White Bird Clinic, said in an email.

White Bird operates medical, dental and mental health services, prioritizing unserved populations that include the unhoused population.

Ewell said specialized programs for people living with mental illness and housing insecurity have limited capacity, so someone like Daniel would likely face a long wait to get help.

“If it was that his family thought there were more resources here or easily available resources, you know, I’m sorry to hear that they were given that impression because it’s not an accurate one,” Ewell said.

From Texas, Daniel’s uncle said he had limited communication with his nephew once he arrived in Oregon.

Daniel’s uncle said his nephew’s phone had been stolen while Daniel was living on the streets in Texas.

But his nephew had an iPad that, with a Wi-Fi connection, allowed for them to text.

“He didn’t talk about what he did during the days,” Daniel’s uncle said.

They texted about the plan, but it wasn’t clear what progress Daniel had made.

“I think he tried to set up appointments with a case worker. I’m not sure what transpired or how far he got,” Daniel’s uncle said.

Daniel’s successes

In better times, Daniel Kahn found work and was a good employee, a point of pride for his son, Mort Kahn recalled.

Mort Kahn said Daniel held a job about seven years ago working the gate at the House of Blues in Houston, a concert venue, restaurant and bar. At the time, Daniel took part in a support program that provided him psychiatric help, his father said.

“I remember him talking to me about how proud he was that he had this job and that people depended upon him,” Mort Kahn said, adding, “I don’t know that I ever saw my son so happy as when he had that job.”

Perhaps five years ago, before the pandemic, Daniel worked at Buc-ee’s, a chain of outsized travel centers, while he lived with a girlfriend nearby, Mort Kahn said.

Daniel “used to tell me, ‘I know I used to sleep late all the time, but I actually get up at 3 a.m. to be at work on time,’” Mort Kahn said in an email.

“His manager loved him, absolutely loved him,” Mort Kahn said. “But he lost that job when he and his girlfriend broke up.”

“That was a very rough time for him, after he lost that job. He would text me from a park or a park bench,” Mort Kahn said.

“I remember all those texts,” he added.

Mort Kahn said a psychiatrist had earlier counseled him not to come to Daniel’s rescue, advice meant to reinforce the importance of sticking with medication and treatment. Constantly coming to Daniel’s aid “would just stymie that,” Mort Kahn said.

Daniel’s struggles

Daniel could turn violent, court records show.

He spent an extended time in the Harris County Jail, a large detention facility in Houston, before ultimately pleading guilty in March 2023 to what Mort Kahn said was a “horrific” beating of a street outreach worker. Court documents said Daniel used his fists in the assault.

In a letter to Lookout Eugene-Springfield, Daniel Kahn’s cousin, Jillian Kahn-Donalson, described Daniel’s behavior as driven by fear.

“It would be truly hard to fathom Daniel attacking another person, except for our knowledge of the voices in his head telling him that everyone, everywhere was out to get him. Daniel believed people were following him in order to harm him in extreme ways,” Kahn-Donalson said.

A court document states Daniel Kahn spent more than 900 days in jail before pleading guilty to aggravated assault, so a judge ruled that he didn’t require additional jail time for the assault, which took place in December 2018.

“This case took years to resolve due to COVID delays, discovery and the client’s mental and extremely poor physical health,” the court record states. “He was in numerous hospitals and facilities for extended periods of time, making a resolution in this case extremely difficult.”

Mort Kahn said Daniel had a severe case of Crohn’s disease, which can cause stomach pain, severe diarrhea and malnutrition. Perhaps more than 10 years ago, Daniel had a portion of his colon surgically removed, and he wore a colostomy bag to collect stool, Mort Kahn said.

“He would get infections and have to go to the hospital,” Mort Kahn said. 

At one point, Texas authorities released Daniel from jail with his court case still pending. Daniel asked to return to the detention facility, Mort Kahn and Daniel’s attorney, Sherra Diann Miller, said.

“I remember me, the judge, everyone else trying to talk him out of it. It seems that he was just having a much more difficult time on the outside,” said Miller. Despite their objections, he did return to the Harris County Jail.

Daniel in jail

While in jail, Daniel reported that he had been sexually assaulted, Mort Kahn said. Daniel said it happened repeatedly, Mort Kahn said.

“After this claim, over the last few years Daniel made mention to many family members that he was constantly being sexually abused, no matter where he went. It’s hard to say what actually happened versus his mental illness,” Mort Kahn said.

Disciplinary and grievance records from the Harris County Jail in Houston show frequent conflict between Daniel and other inmates, with threats and violence commonplace.

Daniel often reported being threatened, with odor from his colostomy bag referenced in jail reports recommending he be relocated “for his safety and well-being.”

Detention officers wrote 23 disciplinary reports involving Daniel over a period of 18 months, writing him up for offenses that included fighting, making a threat and resisting a restraint.

Yet most often, the reports described threats made to Daniel, who separately filed 20 grievances, mostly about health care and his treatment by detention officers and other inmates. Sometimes he expressed fear for his life.

While Mort Kahn said he knew his son to sometimes lie and be manipulative, Daniel was “doubly vulnerable” in jail given his medical condition, he said.

“He never should have gone to a jail,” Mort Kahn said. “He should have gone to a mental health facility that had medical care for someone with Crohn’s disease and a colitis bag.”

Ongoing fear

Records for one of Daniel’s grievances included an “info only” report describing Daniel’s request for a sexual assault examination. No records released showed the results of the exam. 

Daniel had earlier expressed fears about being sexually assaulted, Mort Kahn said, but after his time in jail he seemed to have an intense, more generalized fear.

“He just thought everybody was after him,” Mort Kahn said.

After losing the Buc-ee’s job, Daniel tried to join a wildland firefighting crew, with equipment paid for by his father. Mort Kahn said he thinks Daniel traveled to Oregon for the job, though he lasted less than two weeks.

“He apparently thought the guy that was bunking with him wanted to have sex with him or was touching him at nighttime,” Mort Kahn said. Daniel quickly returned to Texas.

During the weeks prior to his death, in text messages “[h]is mental health would creep in often where he talked about getting raped (he wasn’t – it was in his head),” Daniel’s uncle said in an email.

Perhaps Daniel’s fear drove his actions on the day he was killed, Mort Kahn said.

“My theory is that he did not like police and blames them and thought the Springfield police were going to take him to jail where he might be raped again. So he decided to fight,” Mort Kahn said.

Seeing Daniel as a person

In his written statement shortly after his son’s death, Mort Kahn called for mental health reform.

“States and the federal government need to find a way to diagnose people with serious mental health conditions, and involuntarily hold them in order to give them the assistance that is required for their illnesses AND to protect the public,” Kahn wrote.

Later, Mort Kahn wrote for the Eugene Weekly about the importance of seeing those with mental illness as people in need of long-term care.

“The real story is how we as a nation look upon the mentally ill, the homeless and how we treat them because they don’t act like us and they don’t talk like us and they don’t think like us, so we are fearful of them; however, we do absolutely nothing to help them long term like we do for heart or cancer patients,” Kahn wrote.

He shared with Lookout Eugene-Springfield texts from his son. He said, “the texts that I have from him are dark and to me show clear signs of mental illness.”

But mixed among them were brighter messages.

“I love u dad! I did not let u know but I’m aware of a semblance of the things that you went through to try to help me, really to try to save me I couldn’t ask for a cooler dad,” Daniel texted him on June 30.

In Daniel’s childhood, “We played checkers and chess, we threw the football,” Mort Kahn said. “He was just a normal kid.”

In a last message, also on June 30, Daniel shared news about his ranking in an online chess game: “Check out my chess percentile it says I’m really good.”

With Daniel, “There was a beautiful, sweet soul behind the schizophrenia,” said Kahn-Donalson, his cousin. Despite his obvious problems, Daniel “loved us and we loved him.”