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Portland Copwatch Reports Fifty-One 2016-17 Oregon Police Shootings Eight Incidents in 2018 Show Trend Continuing; Portland Man wins $7M Verdict Though Portland Copwatch (PCW) reported on the 25 Oregon officer involved deadly force incidents from 2016 in our newsletter last year (PPR #71), we did not compile a full list to forward to the Attorney General as in previous years. In January 2018, we sent data to the AG on 26 such incidents from 2017, combined with the 2016 totals and going back to 2010. The state is supposed to print a list, at least of those incidents ending in death, under SB111 (2007), but has never done so. Over the course of eight years, PCW has tracked 192 deadly force incidents, 107 of which ended in death (56%). To the extent possible, we also broke down the data by race (6% African Americans shot/shot at in a state that is 2% black), gender, County, and agency (almost 20% are by Portland Police). No media outlet has reported on our findings and the AG's office has not responded as of mid-April. Meanwhile, there have been eight incidents in Oregon to date in 2018, including the two in Portland (see article from this issue: PPB Kills Man in Homeless Shelter). The last incident of 2017 happened after our last newsletter went to press, so we are covering it here. --On March 29, Medford Officer Tim Pickens shot and wounded William Allen Shelton, Jr., 41, when Shelton allegedly pointed a rifle at him (Medford Mail Tribune, April 4). --On March 14, Keizer Officer Tyler Wampler used an AR-15 rifle to shoot and kill Ryan Chapman, 26, who had allegedly stolen $541 from a Pizza Hut in an armed robbery and allegedly refused to raise one of his hands when ordered. Police said Chapman was holding a gun, so Salem Police Officer Eric Hernandez shot a "bean bag" round at Chapman's corpse to be sure he was dead (Salem Statesman Journal, March 23). --On March 11, Hillsboro Police Sgt. Stephen Beaver and Officers Mike Abshier, Justin Hubenette and Michael Piper shot and killed Daniel S. Reynolds, 20, when he allegedly came out of a house during a domestic disturbance and pointed a shotgun at police (Oregonian, March 16). --On March 8, Salem Police Officer Jesse Rios shot and wounded Zackary Miles Pevey, 40, when Pevey allegedly backed his vehicle toward the officer after a chase (Statesman Journal, March 16). --On January 27, Salem Police Corporals Andrew Connolly and Mark Seyfried, Sgt. James Welsh and Officer Pence Hodges fired at Roy Victor Devoursney, 61, after he allegedly crashed his motor home into Connolly's police car. All four officers missed Devoursney (Statesman Journal, January 28). --On January 12, Washington County Sheriff's SWAT team members Deputy Earl Brown and Corporal Cade Edwards shot and killed Remi Sabbe, 54, who was allegedly firing an AR-15 from his truck in Sherwood. The officers rammed the truck with an armored vehicle in a maneuver caught by a news helicopter, sure to excite those who support militarized police (Oregonian, January 19). --On December 26, six Clackamas County SWAT team members and a Canby police officer (all unnamed) shot and killed Nathaniel Fritz Macalevy, 44, who was reported to be armed and armored, shooting at him after he led them to his house in Boring after a chase and allegedly fired at the officers (KPTV, December 26). Also in Oregon deadly force news: --In February, the largest jury verdict in state history was awarded to Adalberto Flores-Haro for the 2012 incident in which Washington County SWAT officers and Hillsboro police shot and severely wounded him when he came out of his home to see why strange men were on his property (PPR #56). Though the federal jury voted to award $2.5 million for battery and $4.5 million in damages for negligence-- a total of $7 million-- because Flores-Haro came out of his house with a gun and shared responsibility, the total is likely to be reduced to $5.1 million (Oregonian, February 21). --In March , the family of Michael Jacques, who was killed by Bend Police in 2016 (PPR #71), settled with the City for $800,000 (Associated Press, March 10). --In April, three Jefferson County Sheriff's employees were indicted for the April 2017 death of James Eugene Wippel, 59, in their jail (Oregonian, April 6). Find PCW's letter to the AG at http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/oregon_shootings_letter0118.pdf and the 2010-2018 database of incidents, at: http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/OR_shootings_2010-17.pdf. --- Continuing to track the data, the Washington Post reported 987 people were killed by police in the US in 2017 (January 4).
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May, 2018
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#74 Table of Contents
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