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Deadly Force in Oregon Continues Apace:
35 Police Incidents in 2020
Eleven Incidents in 2021 So Far Indicates No Slowdown

In early February, Portland Copwatch published its annual letter to the Attorney General outlining law enforcement deadly force encounters for 2020. Despite a year of social justice protests, in addition to both civilians and police being limited in movement by the COVID pandemic, there were still 35 incidents in Oregon last year, the same (or slightly fewer*) as in 2019. At the time we printed our last issue, we had only known of 32 incidents. In addition to the Portland officer who fired at a car that struck her, missing the suspect (see Shootings article in this issue), two other 2020 incidents are listed below. And other than the April 16 shooting in Portland, we list the 10 which happened just as of mid- April this year. Projecting forward, 11 so far means we're likely to have at least 35 deadly force cases again, even though the average number-- increasing since 2018-- is 28.

--On April 3, an unnamed Corvallis police officer shot and killed Jeffery Appelt, 32, who was holding a knife and had been trying to break into various rooms in a hotel (Corvallis Gazette- Times, April 3).

--Hours earlier on April 2, Salem Police Corporal Clinton Sealey shot and killed Natzeryt Viertel, 22, who was suicidal and allegedly had threatened firefighters trying to help him (Oregonlive, April 6).

--On March 24, Josephine County Sheriff's Lt. Jim Geiger shot at a vehicle while officers were investigating a separate burning car with two dead people inside near Lake Selmac. The second vehicle approached, was shot at, and drove away (KDRV-12TV, April 15).

--On March 13, Multnomah County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Farmer and Gresham Officer Michael Webb shot and wounded Randy Scott Gattman, 57, after Gattman allegedly fired a weapon toward officers after hours of a "standoff." The incident began with erratic driving just before 9 PM on March 12. Gattman was pulled over. He reportedly got out of his car with two guns and was shot at about 6 AM on the 13th (Oregonlive, March 16).

--On March 9, Douglas County Sheriffs Sergeant Nick Hansen, Detective Ricco Lang, and Deputies Mike Siemens and Jason Forte shot and killed David Ruozi Jr., 30, in Reedsport after a four hour standoff with the murder suspect. The District Attorney called it a "suicide by cop" even though the officers chose to kill Ruozi (KQEN-1240AM, April 1).

--On February 23, Eagle Point Officer Danny Jordan, Jackson County Sheriff's Corporal Chad Prins and Deputy Tyler Cam shot and killed Dale Arthur Amstutz-Dunn, 39, in Eagle Point after they responded to a domestic disturbance call and Amstutz-Dunn allegedly shot Prins, causing minor injury. The police shooting also wounded Adam Hackwork, who was in the car with Amstutz-Dunn (Jackson County District Attorney's office, April 15).

--On January 6, Madras Police officer Mel Brown shot and wounded Jordan Abbe, 30, after officers boxed in his car during a chase (Bend Bulletin, March 2).

--Also on January 6, Tigard Officer Gabriel Maldonado shot and killed Jacob Macduff, 26, at the site of a "domestic disturbance" which friends and relatives said was due to a mental health crisis. Macduff was in a truck and police say they struggled with him because they thought he was armed with a knife (Oregonian, January 8, 9 & 20). Notably, this shooting led to protests and vandalism at the Tigard police station.

--On January 3, two unnamed Malheur County Sheriff's Deputies shot and killed Henry Martinez Jr., 49, suspected of a murder in Ontario, when Martinez allegedly moved toward officers while brandishing a knife (Malheur Enterprise, January 19).

--On January 1, unnamed Oregon State Police officers and Lake County Sheriffs Deputies shot and killed Isaac Matheney, 37, north of Valley Falls. Matheney was suspected of robbing a store in Silver Lake, then fled in a car, which police eventually stopped by using spike strips. Police say he was armed and not complying with orders (KTVZ-21, January 2).

On April 14, a Washington County Sheriff's Deputy killed a pedestrian while driving their patrol vehicle. As of PPR deadline, this appears to have been an accident and not a deliberate use of force (OPB, April 15).

--On December 28, Oregon State Trooper James Eslinger shot and killed Alaina Burns, 31, who had barricaded herself in someone else's home near Sunset Beach, climbed on the roof and allegedly waved a gun at officers. She reportedly had issues with mental illness (Daily Astorian, February 12).

--The Oregonian reported on February 8, 2021 that Alexander Jimenez, 24, died in custody after unnamed Warrenton Police and Clatsop County Deputies struggled with and tasered him on April 17, 2020. Jimenez had mental health issues. The Medical Examiner claimed the death was from methamphetamines but listed the Taser as a contributing factor. Jimenez self-identified as African American/Native American/Latino, was a veteran and appeared to be houseless as well.

Data on Officers Who Died in 2020

On December 31, the Portland Police Association posted a video on their Facebook page with commentary about how they and the PPB's Honor Guard were unable to go to officer memorials in 2020 due to COVID restrictions, but wanted to honor their fallen peers. Surprisingly, they didn't point out that 2020 had the most nationwide officer deaths in decades--264. Of those, 145 (55%) died from COVID. The remaining 119 who died is a figure that's 13% lower than the 135 in 2019, with officers dying by firearms in 48 of those cases (down from 51, or -6% from 2019). The other deaths were from traffic accidents (44) and other causes (27).

*-On January 30, 2021, the Oregonian wrote about a January 2019 incident in which Michael Amador Sanchez, 34, was in a mental health crisis and somehow wrapped a seat belt around his neck in the back of a Eugene patrol car while handcuffed, rendering him unconscious and leading to his death months later. PCW refers to this as a "death in proximity" as it's unclear whether police caused Sanchez' death.

Another such incident occurred on March 31 when an unnamed man allegedly took his own life after a chase followed by standoff with Portland Police. The officers say they fired tear gas at the man's vehicle but discovered he was already dead (Oregonlive, March 31).
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May, 2021
Also in PPR #83

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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