STOP MEANS STOP: Cop's Story of Fatal Crash Changes

Witnesses indicated Linstrom ran the stop sign at high speed while rushing to assist another officer investigating (ironically) a speed-racing complaint. The case subsequently went to the Multnomah County Grand Jury which voted on July 21 not to indict Officer Linstrom for criminally negligent homicide or assault in the third degree. At that time, Linstrom's story was that he had gone into the intersection because a tree limb obscured the stop sign (Oregonian, July 22). It later came out that Linstrom initially told another officer that the brakes on his patrol car had failed. An examination of the brakes found they were in good working order and there were no skid marks. Five days later in his interview with Portland police investigators Linstrom stated, "There's no way that this would have happened if I had seen that stop sign" (Oregonian, August 16) ­ changing his defense from the brakes to the tree.

The investigation revealed that prior to the crash, Linstrom hadn't turned on his flashing lights or siren and was traveling in excess of 60 mph. During his training, Linstrom was criticized at least five times for his driving skills. Linstrom, who is in his probationary period prior to becoming a permanent officer, is working under close supervision as the Gresham Police Department finalizes its internal review. Perhaps if the crash itself doesn't end his career, his changing story might.

In the Portland incident on July 14, Officer Kim Hecht ran a stop sign in North Portland before being hit by a van. Hecht and a passenger in the van were taken to the hospital but were later released. Officer Hecht was responding to a domestic violence call from another officer (Oregonian, July 15). Hecht claimed she didn't see the stop sign.

In People's Police Report #14 (April, 1998) we raised concerns about deaths due to high speed chases. Failures to heed stop signs can also result in unnecessary deaths. If stop signs are truly not visible, the City could bear some responsibility. As a start, the branches allegedly obscuring Linstrom's stop sign on 188th have since been removed.

According to PPB public information officer Brian Schmautz, the suspects, Officers William Carter (#8766) and Steven Swan (#14388), are still with the Bureau and "continue to do their jobs." Schmautz indicated that the FBI investigation was continuing and there is typically no internal affairs investigation while a possible criminal investigation is pending.

When contacted for details, FBI spokesperson Beth Ann Steele said "the investigation is ongoing so I am unable to comment upon it at this time."