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Oregon Law Enforcement Headed for Record Year of Deadly Force
With 25 in Thirty-Two Weeks, The State Escalates Its High Rate

Portland Copwatch documented how police in Oregon did not slow down their use of deadly force despite the pandemic in 2020 (PPR #83), noting the 35 incidents last year match those in 2019. As of August 15, there had been at least 25 deadly force incidents in the state so far this year, meaning we could exceed the record of 37 from 2018 unless something is done to control these extrajudicial killings (and woundings). Since our last issue, fourteen more shootings have occurred around Oregon including three more shootings by Portland Police (see the Shootings article in this issue). Notably, Salem police were involved in two incidents in less than two weeks in early July. Here are details of the incidents outside Portland:

--On August 11, unnamed officers from the Medford Police, Central Point Police, Oregon State Police, Phoenix Police, and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office shot and wounded Aurelio Escobar, 25, in Canyonville after they chased the carjacking suspect and he allegedly pointed a gun at them (KOBI-TV5, August 11).

--On July 28, Keizer Police Sgt. Kevin DeMarco and Officers Scott Keniston, Michael Kowash, Jeremy Darst, Chad Fahey and Cody Stupfel were involved in shooting and wounding Sean K. Beck, 47, after he allegedly started shooting at them when they stopped the vehicle he was in. Beck drove away and apparently killed a pedestrian as he fled police, who then shot at him in a Home Depot parking lot (Oregonlive, July 31).

--On July 9, Salem Officer Nathan Bush shot and killed Arcadio Castillo III, 23, reportedly suspected of domestic violence and carrying a knife (KOIN-6TV, July 12).

--On July 7, Medford Officers Levi Moffitt and Cody Walker shot and killed Jerry Allan Gunter, 34, when he supposedly came at them with a knife after burglarizing a medical clinic (Jackson County District Attorney, August 11).

--On July 1, Salem Detective Erick Hernandez shot and wounded Erfinson Bossy, 22, after he allegedly rammed a patrol car with his vehicle as they investigated a civilian-on-civilian shooting incident (KOIN-6TV, July 2).

--On June 16, Beaverton Officer Erik Faulkner shot and wounded Shawn Michael Roy Montoya, 32, a suspect in a burglary. Police claim Montoya shot himself in the head at the same time Faulkner fired, thereby not attributing his death to the officer (Oregonlive, June 22).

--On June 7, Clackamas County Deputy Casey Newton shot and killed Jeremiah L. Wright, 44, in Happy Valley after he "fled [from police] in the car and then by foot." They found a gun near Wright, but the family lawyer questioned the legality of the shooting (Oregonlive, June 9).

--On May 30, Springfield Officer Bronson Durant shot and wounded Alexander Konnoff, 38, when he emerged from his house with a "tactical blade." He drew police attention when he "was yelling and playing loud, threatening recordings" in the neighborhood (Eugene Register Guard, June 19).

--On May 17, Jackson County Deputy Travis Cote shot and killed Rodney Purslow, 32, near Wilmer after he allegedly attacked his own father and threatened to shoot himself with a rifle. Cote fired eight times through a car windshield, hitting Purslow seven times (KRDV-12TV, June 24).

--On May 12, Marion County Deputy Ron Cereghino and Silverton Officers J.J. Lamoreaux and Braden Anderson shot at, but apparently did not hit, Kenneth Williams Peden III, 20, in a car in which he held a young woman he'd allegedly kidnapped (Oregonlive, May 13). Seventeen year old Molly Taylor was injured by bullets and later died from her wounds, which the District Attorney claimed were not caused by police (KGW-8TV, May 20).

--On May 8, Clackamas Deputies Robert Cordova and Jonathan Zacharkiw shot and wounded Gerald Barnes II, 48, after he allegedly fired a bullet at an Oregon City officer through a windshield, causing a bullet fragment to injure the officer's eye (Oregonlive, May 17).

Updates on previous cases:

--Gabriel Maldonado, the former Tigard officer who killed Jacob Macduff in January (PPR #83), was fired from the Port of Portland Police for not revealing he was under investigation for the shooting (Associated Press, May 21).

--The Portland Tribune revealed that the officer who used a Taser leading to the death of James Marshall in October (PPR #82) was Steven Teets. Teets is under investigation for banging on the door of a woman who had a Black Lives Matter flag and destroying her Halloween decorations (Tribune, May 5).

September, 2021
Also in PPR #84

Portland Copwatch
PO Box 42456
Portland, OR 97242
(503) 236-3065/ Incident Report Line (503) 321-5120
e-mail: copwatch@portlandcopwatch.org

Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.

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