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Police Shootings Around Oregon Down Slightly,
With Sixteen by Mid-August
More Past Cases Appear in State Database,
But Only Two of Nine Deaths in 2024 Reported

Statistically speaking, law enforcement in Oregon are returning to a level of violence not seen since 2017, with "only" sixteen incidents clocked from January 1 through August 20-- and no reported incidents in July. Portland Copwatch (PCW) still advocates for the state to find ways other than violence to end confrontations. Of the fifteen, 20% happened in Portland (shootings article). The state keeps an online database as required by SB 111 (2007), which focuses on incidents resulting in deaths. Since April, three more of the originally missing 74 incidents since 2010 have been posted following the letter PCW sent to the Oregon Attorney General and 27 District Attorneys (PPR #92), bringing the total to nine previously unreported incidents now being available. That's just over 12% or one in eight of the missing cases. However, the gap is growing again, as only two of the nine deaths which occurred so far in 2024 have been posted-- notably neither of the fatal Portland Police incidents are there.

Other than the two incidents in Portland in May, here are the other nine shootings that took place since mid-April:

--On August 4, police in Eugene shot and wounded murder suspect Timothy Martin, 39, after a standoff that lasted over two hours. Police say they "believed" Martin was armed (KEZI- TV9, August 21).

--On June 28, Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputy Stephen Tucker shot and wounded Joseph Brasuell, 25, accused of stealing a car when Brasuell supposedly rammed police vehicles with the car in Clackamas. It is not clear whether he rammed a Portland Police patrol car, though they were reportedly part of the chase that led to the shooting (Oregonian, July 2 and KOIN-TV6, July 12).

--On June 26, Tillamook County Sheriff's Officers and Tillamook Police shot and wounded Joey de la Rosa Rodriguez, 37, after he reportedly shot at their cars during a traffic stop and took off. They apprehended him after stopping the car with spike strips (Tillamook Headlight Herald, July 1).

--On June 18, The Dalles Police Officer Jeremy Dutton and Wasco County Sheriff's Deputies Tyler Williams and Joshua Augustus shot and killed Jimmy Ewing, 68, when he allegedly rammed a police car after he had been spotted "acting suspiciously" in a Home Depot parking lot (KGW- TV8, June 22).

--On June 11, Oregon State Police Trooper Jonathan Padgett shot and killed Timothy Wells, 42, in Eugene when Wells supposedly "presented" a handgun, prompting Padgett to first fire his Taser and then his gun (Lane County District Attorney, June 26).

--On May 30, Linn County Sheriff's Deputies shot and killed Gino Marcoccia, 49, near Sweet Home as the officers responded to a domestic violence call. Marcoccia apparently greeted them while holding a rifle (KEZI-TV9, June 2).

--On April 29, Clackamas County Sheriff's Detective Jesse Unck and Beaverton Officer Charles Jujcik shot and killed Andrew Song, 45, who was barricaded in his home in Happy Valley. The man supposedly was holding his family hostage while carrying a knife and pouring out gasoline. Song's threat to kill his family within five minutes (roughly four hours after law enforcement arrived) led the police to shoot him (Oregonian, June 7 and KOIN-TV6, May 3).

[April 25th KOIN-6TV article]--On April 28, four Oregon State Police officers and two Linn County Sheriff's Deputies shot at two people while investigating someone having fired shots in Coburg. When they caught up to the suspects in Linn County, somewhere near Harrisburg, they killed Cameron Bielman and wounded Yasmina Teal, both age 30 (KEZI-TV9, May 7 and 8).

--On April 22, notorious Oregon State Police Superintendent Casey Codding took a potshot at a car he knew contained both a man and a kidnapped child. Fortunately, the child was not harmed. The man, Elias Huizar, 39, was a former Washington state law enforcement officer who had killed the child's mother and fled over the border to Oregon. Codding happened to be in his police vehicle in the area when a chase ensued on I-5. Both he and OSP Sergeant Orly Johnson fired at the car, which sped off. They soon found Huizar's car crashed by the freeway, and they say he took his own life (OPB, April 24). Codding previously shot and killed LaVoy Finicum in 2016 and Samuel Mullane in 2012. We all know what they say about what floats to the top.

  [People's Police Report]

September, 2024
Also in PPR #93

• Portland Police Shoot Two in May
• OR: State Shootings at Sixteen by Mid- August
• New Protest Violence, Payouts, and Crowd Team
• Court Monitor Begins Scrutiny of DOJ Agreement
• Cop "Union" Fails to Put Review Board on Ballot
• Citizen Committee Has Full Contingent
• Revised Camping Ban Hits Bump in Enforcement
• Updates PPR #93:
  • Portland Admits Crime Rate Doesn't Drive Traffic Stops
  • Statewide Discipline Commission Surveys Public
  • Be Careful What You Say: Body Cameras Hit the Streets
• Training Council: New Captain, Visit from Chief
• Quick Flashes PPR #93:
  • Copwatch Meets w/ Sheriff Internal Affairs, City Auditor
  • High-Speed Pursuits Endanger Community
  • PPB Stocks Up on Crowd Munitions
• Bureau Sneaks in Major Change to Force Policy
• City Commissioner Calls Copwatch "Extreme"
• Rapping Back #93
  

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.

People's Police Report #93 Table of Contents
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