Keizertimes., June 22, 2018, Image 1

SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 39, NO. 38
SECTION A
JUNE 22, 2018
$1.00
Police shooting withstands review
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Note: The author of this article
is the reporter who participated in
the Deadly Force Review Board.
In dashcam video, Offi cer
Tyler Wampler pulls up next to
a sign marking the intersection
of Springtime Court Northeast
and Chemawa Road North-
east. It is March 14, 2018. In
the next 35 seconds a man, sus-
pected of robbing a Pizza Hut
on River Road North, will die
of a single gunshot.
Ahead of Wampler’s vehicle,
where the camera will remain
in a fi xed view, a red Hyundai
Elantra is seen crashed into a
white vehicle and the suspect
exits the Hyundai in a black
mask, carrying a black bag and
takes off on foot into the cul
de sac. Wampler parks his patrol
vehicle on the sidelawn of a
residence and exits the vehicle
with an AR-15 in hand. He
shouts a warning to the suspect
that he has the assault rifl e in
hand and will use it.
Neither man is seen on
camera from here on out, but
the audio from what is oc-
curring is nearly crystal clear.
Within a few seconds, Wampler
issues another warning that the
suspect will be shot as he chases
the man into a single-family
residential neighborhood. He
repeats a warning again a few
seconds later. Somewhere in
the next moments the suspect
has stopped running away and
taken up a position between
a large pick-up truck and
a larger SUV parked in the
driveway of one
of the homes.
According to
testimony pro-
vided to a grand
jury and police
reports, he is
looking back at
Wampler and
other approach-
ing offi cers and
is being asked to
show his hands,
r e p e a t e d l y.
Wampler and
another offi cer
later testify that
the man showed
one hand, but
never both at the same time.
About 20 seconds in, the sus-
pect is warned again about the
potential of being shot. The sus-
pect is then heard shouting, “I
have a gun.” Wampler tells the
man to drop his weapon. About
Why Keizertimes took part in
the KPD’s Deadly Force
Review Board and
where to go
from here.
PAGE
A3
Armed robbery at Pizza Hut
Offi cers pursue suspect through Keizer
Suspect crashes at intersection of
Springtime and Chemawa Road Northest
Suspect exits vehicle
A SHOOTING UNFOLDS
Offi cer Tyler Wampler exits
vehicle, warns suspect that he
will be shot, foot pursuit begins
Second warning issued
Third warning issued
Suspect takes cover between two
vehicles parked in a driveway
Fourth warning issued
Suspect shouts back he has a gun
Fifth warning issued
PAGE B1
Shot fi red killing suspect
Drone zones
Deadly Force Review Board
assembled by the Keizer Police
Department (KPD) Tuesday,
June 12, to determine whether
Wampler acted in accordance
with department policy re-
garding use of force. Such re-
views are an
uncommon
occur rence
“ If the suspect
for KPD. Of-
should be
fi cers
have
used
deadly
focused on
force less than
getting away,
a half-dozen
times in its
why is he
more than 30-
year history.
looking back to
The March
see where police
incident was
the fi rst time
offi cers are?”
such force has
— Sgt. Bob Trump,
resulted in a
Keizer Police Department
death, but re-
view boards
have
been
pop, silences all chatter briefl y. assembled every time deadly
The suspect is killed with that force was used.
single bullet, but it will take an-
Aside from those mile-
other few minutes to be certain stones, this review board was
the standoff is over.
unique in another way. Chief
The video was one of sev- John Teague and Deputy Chief
eral exhibits examined by a Jeff Kuhns invited a member
the 29-second mark, Wampler
issues one more warning, tell-
ing the man he will be shot.
Shortly thereafer, Wampler ap-
parently sees an opportunity
and takes it. A sound, some-
where between a crack and a
of the Keizertimes staff to sit
on the board and then write
about the experience. It’s the
fi rst time a civilian, much less a
member of the media, has been
allowed to do so in the depart-
ment’s history.
KPD’s use of physical force
policy amounts to six pages
in a manual that is more than
400 pages long, but it is in-
formed by prominent court
cases throughout the country’s
history. Three court challenges
are given special note. The fi rst
is Graham v. Connor, which es-
tablished “The Objective Test.”
The court determined that of-
fi cers must balance use of force
with intrusion on an individu-
al’s freedom from unwarranted
search and seizure.
In more practical terms, it
established four circumstances
to be considered when using
reasonable force:
• The severity of the crime.
In this instance, the suspect al-
legedly held two Pizza Hut em-
ployees at gunpoint while rob-
bing from a cash register, then
led police on a fi ve-minute car
chase through a number of resi-
dential areas before crashing at
Springtime Court. When the
suspect's body was recovered
from the scene, a black bag
holding the same amount of
cash stolen from the Pizza Hut
was found next to him.
• The immediacy of the
threat. There are multiple ways
to view the incident through
this lens. Prior to fl eeing on
foot, the suspect nearly col-
lided with a number of KPD
and civilian vehicles while try-
ing to escape in the Hyundai.
Many of the close calls were
caught on dashcams, but others
might have occurred outside
those views. When pursuing
the suspect on foot, Wampler
testifi ed that the suspect
looked over his shoulder sev-
eral times. Sgt. Bob Trump told
members of the review board
that such actions are consid-
ered a high-level threat. Trump
summed it up saying, “If the
suspect should be focused on
getting away, why is he looking
back to see where police offi -
cers are?”
Please see REVIEW, Page A6
Authorities’ response to stray bullet? Letters
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Neighbors along the Willa-
mette River in Keizer turned
out at the Keizer City Coun-
cil meeting Monday, June 18,
to ask for action in response to
a bullet that traveled across the
river from a shooting range
into a Keizer home.
“He has the right to shoot
over there and we have the
right to not live in fear. We
want to know what has been
done and what is going to
be done to stop this,” said
Rhonda Rich, a resident on
Raphael Street North, and a
neighbor to the couple whose
home was struck by the bullet.
“This isn’t a second amend-
ment issue, it’s a public safety
issue.”
For now, it seems the only
action the city plans on taking
is sending a letter and trying to
keep pressure on Polk County
offi cials to take action.
On Saturday, June 2, four
men were cited for reckless
endangering after a bullet they
fi red from a quarry being used
Williams
to play at
Western
as a shooting range – located
across the Willamette River in
Polk County – penetrated the
exterior wall of a home in the
1300 Block of Raphael Street
North and stopped only after
striking a backsplash located
in the kitchen of the home.
One of the homeowners was
in the kitchen at the time of
the incident.
Keizer residents along the
river have requested action
twice in the past year. The fi rst
time, in September 2017, resi-
dents were responding to bul-
lets that strafed trees in Sunset
Park and caused park users to
fl ee into the neighborhood.
“I’m angry that we have
to be back because of anoth-
er shooting (incident),” said
Rich. “I avoid going in my
backyard because I’m afraid
of a stray bullet. It’s a matter
of responsible gun ownership
that isn’t happening.”
A Keizer police sergeant
met with the owner of the
quarry, Lance Davis, after the
September incident and signs
were put in place to alert
McNary
teacher
retiring after
30 years
PAGE A8
“ The City
(of Keizer)
urges you to
take all action
necessary to
immediately
stop the use of
your property
as a shooting
range.”
— Shannon Johnson,
Keizer City Attorney
Submitted
A photo of the bullet that entered a home on Raphael Street
North earlier this month.
range users to the residences
across the river. But, the lat-
est incident resulted in City
Attorney Shannon sending a
letter to Davis.
“This situation is unaccept-
able and dangerous. I cannot
advise you legally, however I
would have to believe that you
and your company have some
liability in this regard,” John-
son wrote in a letter dated
June 13. “The City (of Keizer)
urges you to take all action
necessary to immediately stop
the use of your property as a
shooting range. My concern is
that any preventative measures
will not eliminate the risk that
rounds fall into Keizer as long
as the property is used as a
range.”
In addition, Clark read into
the record a letter from Polk
County Sheriff Mark Garton
sent to Polk County Commis-
sioner Craig Pope.
After speaking with Davis,
Garton wrote, “ I have asked
what his plans were to im-
prove safety and he told me
Please see STRAY, Page A6
Basketball
camp sees
record turnout
PAGE B1