Dan's murder is nothing less than a tragedy. He was a vibrant, informed, engaging, hilarious and one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to know. And I'm glad to have counted him as a friend, he will be sorely missed.

The cops' press release said:

On Friday, November 16, 2007, at 10:05 pm, the roommate of 32-year-old Charles Daniel Callaway arrived home in the 5800 block of North Montana Avenue to find Mr. Callaway unconscious and bleeding. Medical personnel were called to the scene and discovered that Mr. Callaway had been shot at least one time and was deceased. North Precinct officers and Homicide Detectives were called to the scene to initiate an investigation. Detectives spent the night processing the crime scene and have not developed any suspect information. There is speculation that the victim may have been shot after interrupting a burglary.

I have a call in to PIO Brian Schmautz asking about the terminology, although I'd say I'm leaning towards thinking it was an oversight, not an insult, at this point. The police have had more homicides to deal with in Portland this weekend than any other this year, and they had to get information out to the public as quickly as possible.

Good question, though. And this death is very sad.

Brian Schmautz says:

"In a homicide investigation, if someone is legally married, and it's public record, then we say that. Otherwise we say roommate. It's designed to satisfy the media's need for information, but people's personal lives are their personal lives. If it's a man and a woman, we say roommate, too."

Please, let's not mince "words". It's a senseless and cruel death that will affect all of those who knew him, partner, mother, father, sibling,co-worker, all who ever knew him. Let's focus not on words of a misnomer, just on the loss of a beautiful life and how people will go on without him. I'm sure no one meant harm by the incorrect identity of a relationship, it's of no consequence. It probably was not intentional. People who know them know the truth. The important thing is the loss of life and how anyone can go on in the face of it. Find the one who struck him down and shortened a life that could have been even more fruitful than it was, far too early to go.

Dan, You were an amazing person. I will always remember your smile and your great sense of humor. You had such a great soul. I will miss you.

Dan was a wonderful spirit. It was an absolute tragedy that something like this had to happen here in Portland, to such a fantastic soul. My sincere condolences to Jonny, Dan's family, and friends.