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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2016)
PAGE A12, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 18, 2016 Man arrested after taking car By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes A 28-year-old Keizer man was arrested after a carjacking incident Wednesday morning. Shortly before 11 a.m. March 9, Keizer Police Depart- ment offi cers were dispatched to a carjacking incident at the Keizer Quality Suites on Wit- tenberg Lane. According to a release from the Keizer Police Department, the 51-year-old male victim told police he had been pushed down by a man in his 20s, who then stole his blue 2015 Subaru Outback from the south parking lot of the hotel. The victim suffered minor abrasions when he fell to the ground. The suspect was report- ed to be armed with a crowbar, or some similar tool. The sus- pect was later identifi ed as Ryan Otero. While offi cers searched the area, Sgt. Trevor Wenning spot- ted the Subaru going eastbound on Dearborn Avenue near Verda Lane. Wenning followed Otero as he drove south on Verda Lane. Once other offi cers joined Wenning, a high risk traffi c stop was initiated on Verda just north of the Salem Parkway. Otero pulled the vehicle over. “The suspect was initially stopped where he pulled over because that was when the fi rst offi cer (Wenning) had a cover offi cer (Jay Prall) catch up to him to assist with the high risk traffi c stop,” KPD deputy chief Jeff Kuhns said. “We don’t want offi cers trying to conduct high- risk traffi c stops on their own if a cover offi cer is nearby. In this case, Sgt. Wenning simply fol- lowed the stolen vehicle until offi cer Prall caught up to them and then he initiated the high- risk traffi c stop.” Initially Otero complied with verbal commands and ex- ited the car with his hands up, but moments later he became defi ant, reentering the vehicle and then exiting again with a crow bar. An offi cer deployed his Taser twice, but was ineffec- tive both times in incapacitating Otero. Kuhns said neither deploy- ment reached Otero. “The distance between the deploying offi cer and the sus- pect was too far,” Kuhns said. “In our case the probes didn’t even strike the suspect, from the best we can tell.” Kuhns noted other offi cers at the scene had their guns pointed at Otero since he posed “an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death” to of- fi cers once he armed himself with the crowbar. “It’s common for one offi cer to announce to the others he or she is going to deploy a less lethal option in an attempt to incapacitate a suspect, but oth- er offi cers will maintain lethal cover on the suspect simultane- ous to the deployment of less lethal,” Kuhns said. After the second Taser at- tempt, Otero threw the crow- bar towards offi cers, got back into the Subaru and attempted to drive away. He was only able to drive about 50 yards before striking two police vehicles. There were no injuries, but all three vehicles sustained moder- ate damage and had to be towed away. “We did not want him to get to the Salem Parkway fl ee- ing from the offi cers because the traffi c light was red for east- bound traffi c,” Kuhns said. “My experience tells me had the sus- pect made it to the Salem Park- way he probably would have disregarded the red traffi c signal and proceeded through the in- tersection. Odds are his doing so would have resulted in a seri- ous traffi c crash because at this time of day the Salem Parkway is heavily traveled by motorists.” When Otero got back into the Subaru, two offi cers already in their vehicles and reacted. “One of them immediately cut in front of the fl eeing ve- hicle in an attempt to cut the suspect off,” Kuhns said. “The suspect maneuvered around this police vehicle to avoid be- ing cut off, but another offi cer was right behind and to the left Wood named fi nance director By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Tim Wood can take off the interim label. Wood had been serving as interim Finance Director for Keizer since Susan Gahls- dorf retired from that position on Jan. 8. Wood had worked alongside Gahlsdorf for six years as assistant controller, while Gahlsdorf spent her last year working on a transition plan that included Wood being trained on her duties. City Manager Chris Eppley said four fi nalists for the posi- tion were interviewed. In early March, Eppley announced Wood had earned the job. He mentioned the news again during the March 7 Keizer City Council meeting. “Tim Wood has been fi lling in as acting fi nance director,” Eppley said. “He is fi lling in no more. Tim is our new per- manent fi nance director. We’re glad to have him on board.” Eppley noted all four fi nal- ists were strong candidates. “They were all very good,” Eppley said. “Tim rose above them. Any of them would have worked out well, but the deci- sion was clear.” Mayor Cathy Clark was pleased with the level of ap- plicants as well. “We had a number of good candidates,” she said. “This ap- pointment is very good for Keizer indeed.” In other recent council business: • Councilors approved new equipment for the Lacey Court water fi lter plant. The item was part of the consent calendar, but Clark pulled the item so she could ask about it. “There’s a lot of discus- sion around town about water quality,” she said. “I wanted to see how this addresses that concern.” Bill Lawyer, Public Works director for Keizer, noted the plant hasn’t been used. “This one is not in ser- vice due to water problems,” Lawyer said. “Hydrogen sul- fi tes are the main issue. It’s not harmful, but it is annoying. It’s the rotten egg smell. There is manganese in the well. That creates some staining. We fl ush it every spring. It’s a real dark purple color. The plant hasn’t been online most of its life be- cause of the problems. We have found the solution, so we’re putting it back online.” Eppley acknowledged complaints come in about the water. “The two main complaints we get are smell and yellowing of whites or on the inside of the dishwasher,” Eppley said. “That is common for ground- water systems. There are two really simple ways to fi x a lot of those issues. If you have braided plastic water lines, wa- ter will sit. Water reacts with the sulfi tes. Replace the line with a copper pipe line and it gets rid of the issue. It’s a cheap and simple solution. Also, wa- ter softeners do a great job fi l- tering out manganese. You can do both things for less than $200.” • Matt Lawyer was con- fi rmed as the newest member of the Keizer Parks and Rec- reation Advisory Board. With the appointment, the Parks Board is back up to a full ros- ter of nine members. Lawyer’s fi rst Parks Board meeting was last Tuesday, March 8. • The process to fi ll the council seat vacated by Bran- don Smith has been amend- ed. Applications are still due March 28 at 5 p.m., but the special meeting for candi- date presentations has been bumped up a week to Monday, April 4 at 6 p.m. Councilors will vote that night, with the new person being sworn in at the April 18 council meeting. 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