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Oregon Deadly Force Incidents at 34, Highest on Record Nine Incidents Since September Include Five in Portland; Klamath DA Turns Case Over to State In our last issue, Portland Copwatch revealed our research showing there had already been 25 officer involved shootings/deaths in the state of Oregon by the end of July-- the average number for any single year from 2010-2017. With nine more incidents since then, we have now passed the previous 2013 high of 30 shootings in one year. This is a 40% increase over the average and is far above the national trend. In an October 5 case in Klamath Falls, Klamath County District Attorney Eve Costello turned the case over to the Oregon Attorney General's office for investigation, noting the DA has an "intimacy and familiarity... with the local involved officers, and also the participation of a Drug Enforcement Adminstration [DEA] agent" (KOBI-TV, October 19). Community activists have long demanded an independent prosecutor be used for deadly force cases because of just such conflicts of interest by DAs. Unfortunately, like most Grand Juries, Oregon's DOJ found the officers were justified in the incident. Three of the nine incidents happened in Portland in a three-week period (p. 1), with a fourth on Thanksgiving and a fifth in December. Here are recaps of the others: --On September 7, Beaverton Officer Dan Coulson shot and wounded Anthony Shaner, 22, when he was allegedly riding a bicycle and carrying a knife near Jesuit High School (Oregonlive, September 24).
--On October 5, Klamath Falls Police Detective Corporal Christopher Zupan and an unnamed DEA agent shot and killed Phillip Samuel Moskios Jr., 48 after Moskios allegedly assaulted an Oregon State Trooper in Modoc Point during a traffic stop and fled on foot (Klamath Falls News, October 5). --On November 3, North Bend Detective Ryan Doyle, Coquille Officer Justin Gray, Coos County Deputies Theran Coleman and Aaron Whittenberg, and Oregon State Police Troopers Ben Cordes and Shaelon Ross shot and killed Robert Charles Foster, 65, in Bandon after he allegedly fired a shotgun at them (Eugene Register Guard, November 5). Foster had previously tried to commit suicide in October and reportedly told officers to "come and kill me." For what it's worth the Coos County DA stated this meant Foster had "the intent of provoking the police to shoot and kill him"-- avoiding the problematic phrase "suicide by cop" (Oregonlive, November 4). In other deadly force-related news: --Washington state voters used a ballot measure to remove the requirement that police officers have to have used "malice" in using deadly force in order to be prosecuted. --On February 24, a man was killed after Gladstone police chased him in a car; so far as we can tell, the man's name has never been released (Pdx Flash Alert News, February 24). --Also in February, Former West Virginia Officer Stephen Mader won a $175,000 wrongful termination lawsuit after he was fired for not using deadly force against a suicidal man in 2016 (PPR #70), with Mader saying he assessed the actual danger using skills he learned in the military (iHeartRadio, February 13). Find PCW's list of shootings in 2018 at www.portlandcopwatch.org/shootings.html. |
January, 2019
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#76 Table of Contents
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--On September 20, Eagle Point
Officer Daniel Cardenas shot and killed Matthew Graves in a fast food restaurant restroom.
Disturbing video of the incident shows two officers followed Graves into the restaurant after seeing
him jaywalk. Rather than notice his bizarre behavior might indicate a mental health issue (Graves'
family said he has schizophrenia), they escalated the situation by using a Taser, which Graves may
have grabbed and used on Senior Officer Clarence Davis. Davis apparently mistook the Taser for a
gun and Cardenas killed Graves based on Davis shouting he had a gun (Oregonlive, October 25).