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Copwatch Sends State List of 35 Law Enforcement
Deadly Force Incidents in 2021
Nine Shootings So Far in 2022 May Mean a Less Unsafe Public

For the eighth year in a row, Portland Copwatch (PCW) sent a list and analysis of officer-involved shootings in the state of Oregon to the Attorney General's office, this time showing 35 incidents in 2021 and a total of 339 incidents since 2010. The annual average jumped from 25 with a sharp increase in 2017, a level which was sustained over the last five years, leading to a yearly average of 28. In 2007, the state required all law enforcement agencies to report deaths due to officer deadly force; PCW calculates that only 68% of such deaths since 2018 are actually posted on the state's website. Meanwhile, there have been at least nine shootings in 2022, all but one of which have been fatal. If the current average of about five incidents every two months continues, Oregon's lethal force rate may actually go down this year. In addition to the shooting by Portland Police in February (see the Shootings article in this issue), below are the other eight incidents from this year, along with the 35th from 2021 which occurred after we sent the last newsletter to press.

--On April 18, after a car in SE Portland rammed law enforcement vehicles trying to box it in, an unnamed US Marshal shot at Roman Culver, 23, who was wanted for murder in Washington state, wounding both Culver and a passenger in the car (KPTV-12, April 18).

--On April 11, Salem Police Corporal Joshua Buker shot and killed Tayler Shannon Osborne, 28, who was suspected of stealing a car after the stop escalated into a "violent fight" (KGW- 8TV, April 12).

--On March 31, Oregon State Police Sergeant Chad Drew and Columbia County Sheriff Brian Pixley shot and killed Michael Stockton, 39, when they say murder suspect Stockton fired a gun at them (KOIN-6TV, April 1). Yes, the actual Sheriff, not a Deputy.

--On March 3, Oregon State Police shot and killed Alfred Calvin Moss, 44, in Lincoln City after Moss led Tillamook and Lincoln County deputies on a slow car chase, threatened a woman in the car, and claimed to have explosives with him (KGW-8TV, March 4)

--On February 7, Salem Police Officers Chad Treichler, Griffin McDowell, and Jonathan McNichols shot and killed Richard Allen Meyers, 40, after Meyers fled from a traffic stop (Salem Statesman Journal, February 18). An injured dog was in the car, it's not clear whether it was hit by police bullets (Oregonlive, February 7).

--On February 4, Crook County Sheriff's Deputy Steven Hatcher shot and killed Nicholas Rodin, 35, possibly in connection to a probation violation, saying he had a gun and reached for his pocket (KTVZ-21TV, March 25). Rodin had mental health issues, according to his family (Bend Bulletin, February 10). This is the first incident Portland Copwatch has found in Crook county since beginning this project.

--On January 26, Clackamas County Deputy David Fooladjoush shot and killed Wesley Chance, 32, after Chance allegedly crashed his car, jumped out with a gun and "confronted" other vehicles on I-205 (Oregonlive, January 31).

--On January 4, Multnomah County Deputy Chad Phifer and Gresham Police Officer Mark Smith shot and killed Roman Ivan Kokhanevych, 24, a bank robbery suspect who had allegedly fired at officers from a moving car (Oregonlive, January 6). In 2021, Phifer moved back to the MCSO, where he'd worked before being on the Portland Police for 14 years, including his involvement in the death of John Elifritz in April 2018 (PPR #74).

--The last shooting of 2021 was on December 24, when Albany Police Officer Jim Estes shot and wounded Thomas Leonard Jones, 51, after Jones allegedly walked toward Estes with knives saying he did not want to go to jail over a restraining order (Oregonian, December 26).

For the full findings of PCW's 2021 statewide analysis, go to:
portlandcopwatch.org/ OR_shootings_letter0222.pdf

May, 2022
Also in PPR #86

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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