REGION
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
State police to question
Morrow County
deputy who shot man
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Morrow County District
Attorney Justin Nelson said
the sheriff’s deputy who
shot a man early Friday is
about to undergo two days
of police interviews.
Nelson
also
said
revealing the deputy’s iden-
tity would wait until the
investigation is complete.
The shooting occurred
after the deputy stopped
Friday at about 1:50 a.m.
for a disabled vehicle on
the westbound side of
Interstate 84 near exit 164
for Boardman, according
to Oregon State Police, the
lead agency investigating
the shooting. The deputy
encountered Efren Hurtado
Jr., 26, of Boardman, who
had a firearm, according to
police.
State
police
have
not specified if the two
exchanged gunfire or if
the deputy was the only
shooter.
Nelson said Oregon
State Police detective
Michael Wolf out of the
Pendleton office is heading
up the investigation,
“His next step is to
interview the deputy,”
Nelson said. “The plan for
the next two days is for him
to be interviewed.”
Wolf reviewed the
deputy’s body camera
footage from the shooting,
Nelson said, and he likely
has to interview officers
that responded to the
shooting and watch their
body cam footage as
well. Police also obtained
a warrant to search the
suspect’s vehicle, and the
state police crime lab is
processing evidence from
that scene,
Nelson said as far as
he knows police have
not interviewed Hurtado,
who remains in a Portland
hospital. Nelson said he
did not know his condition.
While Hurtado made
some statements in the
ambulance, Nelson said,
those might have been
gibberish, and even now he
may not be in a condition to
talk about what happened.
Nelson added there’s no
way to put on a deadline to
complete the investigation,
and state police have not
provided an estimate. He
also said he has not decided
if he would release the
body cam footage with the
deputy’s name or make it
available for public records
requests.
BRIEFLY
Chainsaw theft leads to bigger arrest
HERMISTON — The report of a chainsaw theft
led Hermiston police to arrest two
suspects.
The victim at about 11:20 p.m.
Sunday reported he was following the
people who stole a $1,700 chainsaw
from his porch on the 900 block of
Northwest Third Street, according to
a written statement from Hermiston
Police Chief Jason Edmiston. The
victim said the suspects were in a
silver Nissan Altima pulling into
Garcia Ramirez
Jack in the Box, 1350 N. First St.,
Hermiston.
Officers arrived and found the
Nissan in the restaurant’s drive-
through lane.
“As it turns out,” according to
Edmiston, “the vehicle the subjects
were driving was reported stolen out
of Umatilla.”
Police arrested Edilberto Garcia
Ramirez, 35, and Jesus Salvador
Solorio Vidales
Solorio Vidales, 33, both of
Hermiston, for first-degree theft.
Police also arrested Solorio Vidales for unauthorized use
of a vehicle. Edmiston reported the pair did not resist
during their arrests.
“The victim in this matter did the right thing by calling
us and allowing our officers to engage the suspects,”
Edmiston stated. “We encourage all citizens however, to
ensure their valuable property is appropriately secured
from opportunistic criminals such as this duo.”
EOCI inmate dies unexpectedly Sunday
PENDLETON — The Oregon Department of
Corrections reported an inmate died unexpectedly Sunday
evening at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution,
Pendleton.
As with all unanticipated deaths of state prison
inmates, the Oregon State Police is conducting an
investigation, according to the department’s accoutrement
about the death.
David Kirby, 38, was unresponsive Sunday at about
8:25 p.m. in his housing unit at the medium-security
prison, the corrections department reported. Medical staff
began life-saving efforts until outside medial services
arrived and took over. Kirby died at 9:14 p.m.
Kirby entered the corrections department custody on
Sept. 15, 2015, on two counts of first-degree sodomy out
of Linn County. His release date was Nov. 13, 2031.
The corrections department also reported Kirby’s
relatives know of his death, and no other details are
available at this time.
Sheriff’s Department releases name of
man who drowned at Warehouse Beach
The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Department has
identified the man who drowned at Warehouse Beach
earlier this month.
Luis Toro Aguilera, 21, drowned around 6 p.m. on
Saturday, Sept. 9 while swimming at the beach near the
Columbia River.
According to Sgt. Adam Gregory, Aguilera, an Irrigon
resident, was showing some work acquaintances how to
swim when he was swept out into the water toward the
river and began to struggle.
“They lost contact with him, and our deputies were
notified,” Gregory said. “The police boat located him via
sonar.”
A dive team from the Tri-Cities came down, and
recovered Aguilera’s body around 8 p.m. No one else was
in the water with Aguilera at the time of his drowning.
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Page 3A
HERMISTON
Benches dedicated to Vietnam soldiers
Project part of
HHS class reunion
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Flags flew at half-staff
Saturday
afternoon
at
McKenzie Park where the
Hermiston High School class
of 1967 honored two of their
classmates, Lance Cpl. Dick
Miller and Staff Sgt. John
Ware, who died fighting
overseas in the Vietnam War.
The group, celebrating its
50th class reunion, dedicated
two new park benches in
memory of Miller and Ware,
sharing heartfelt and tearful
stories about both men and
praising all veterans for their
service to the country.
“I know thanks isn’t
enough for what you went
through, and what you carry
with you,” said Ray Tracy,
who helped to organize the
event. “But you are appreci-
ated, and you are loved.”
Miller was shot and killed
on May 12, 1969 while
serving in the Marine Corps
in South Vietnam. Ware was
lost in a helicopter crash
later that same year in South
Vietnam and was missing
in action for nearly nine
years before being officially
declared killed in action on
Aug. 21, 1978. His body was
never recovered.
Tracy said he got to know
Miller and Ware from their
days together at Hermiston
High. He described Ware
as a funny guy, interested
in cars and drove a nice
Staff photo by George Plaven
Ray Tracy led the dedication of two new benches at McKenzie Park in Hermiston,
honoring classmates Dick Miller and John Ware who died in the Vietnam War.
Camaro. Tracy also worked
summers with Miller loading
watermelons from the field
during harvest.
“If they’re looking down
on us, I know they’re just
taken in by the love we’re
showing,” Tracy said.
The idea to install memo-
rial benches at McKenzie
Park came from previous
HHS class reunions in honor
of their fallen classmates.
The class of 1964 dedicated
one bench to Greg Gessel,
who was killed in Vietnam
on March 10, 1971, and the
class of 1965 dedicated a
bench to Gordon Spearman,
who was killed on Sept. 14,
1967.
Tracy said the class of
1967 wanted to do some-
thing similar for Miller and
Ware. Back in January, a
committee formed to begin
fundraising for the project,
reaching out to fellow class
members for support.
Tom Ditton, an attorney
in Hermiston, also assisted
on the committee. His
original plan was to buy just
one bench with both men’s
names on it.
“I wasn’t sure how much
money we could raise,”
Ditton said.
Benches cost $1,500
each, and the class of 1967
eventually came forward
with $2,300. After speaking
with Hermiston Parks and
Recreation Director Larry
Fetter, Ditton said the city
volunteered to cover the cost
of a second bench — one for
Miller and one for Ware.
“I was just overwhelmed
with the support that came to
me,” Ditton said. “This is a
great project.”
At the end of the day,
Ditton said it doesn’t matter
what your politics are, or
what you thought about the
war. What matters is Miller
and Ware stood up and made
the sacrifice.
“That’s really to be appre-
ciated and honored,” Ditton
said.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
BOARDMAN
Police department gang database currently empty
Chief contends list is valuable tool in
combating crime, worth keeping on table
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Earlier this month, the
Portland Police Bureau
announced that it will get rid
of a database of gang-affili-
ated citizens, a 20-year prac-
tice city officials said was
disproportionately targeting
minorities.
Some claim the database
was used to turn people away
from jobs and apartments,
and that parts of it were
shared with immigration
enforcement agencies.
Some local police depart-
ments still use a database
to track gang activity, as
Portland did. But similarities
are few.
In Boardman, a town
of about 3,000, the police
department has a gang desig-
nation database, but it is
currently empty. Boardman
Police Chief Rick Stokoe
said that since its creation in
2013, the database has had
two people in it, but both
have since been removed
from the list. Stokoe said
a person who lands on the
list but has no other activity
recorded in four years is
purged from the database.
Stokoe said the purpose
of the database is to give
officers critical information
when post-court issues come
up.
“Let’s say someone goes
to court and the judge says,
‘no contact with any known
gang member,’” Stokoe said.
“If we saw an individual
on probation who was not
supposed to be with gang
members, with a person who
we believed to be a gang
member but we didn’t know,
we couldn’t do anything.”
He said having specific
criteria to determine what
makes someone a gang
member would make it
easier to know whether
someone was breaking the
rules or not, rather than
just looking at a person and
guessing if they had gang
ties.
3 0 th
“I don’t believe that’s
fair,” he said. “I don’t like
labeling someone without
the criteria.”
It’s a fairly long process
to be placed in the database,
which is not available to
the public. A person has to
meet requirements from two
“I don’t like
labeling someone
without the
criteria.”
— Richard Stokoe,
Boardman Police Chief
lists, each of which contain
examples of gang affiliation
or activity. Examples on one
list include participation in
a criminal gang initiation
or ceremony, or conspiring
or committing a crime.
Examples on the second list
include wearing jewelry or
clothing unique to a gang in
a context that indicates affil-
iation with a gang, or using
hand signs or language in
context that indicates affil-
iation with a criminal gang.
If a person meets these
criteria, they have to go
through several rounds of
hearings with the Boardman
Police Department. They
can then appeal the designa-
tion.
Stokoe said once the
person is on the list, it will
affect them if they are
involved in another gang-re-
lated or criminal incident,
but will not be a facto if
they commit an offense such
as getting pulled over for
speeding.
Stokoe added that he
didn’t know much about
Portland’s
decision
to
remove the database. But he
said the perceived reason for
doing so — racial profiling
— wasn’t an issue with the
Boardman program.
“Tell me where in this
ordinance does it talk about
profiling or look at specific
gender or race,” he said.
“It’s not applicable.”
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East Oregonian
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said he has
concerns with designating a
person as a “gang affiliate,”
when officers will interpret
the definition of “gangs”
differently.
“I think it’s a slippery
slope for police to label
people,” he said. “If I’m
going to label someone, I
better have a pretty clear
idea of what that is.”
He added that labeling
someone as a gang member
based on a perceived affil-
iation can make it more
difficult for a person trying
to escape gang activity.
“I’ve seen and experi-
enced in my career, people
involved in gang activity
who are productive citizens
today,” he said. “At what
point does the label prevent
someone from getting out of
that lifestyle?”
Edmiston said a police
officer’s job is to track and
prevent criminal activity,
regardless of a label.
“There are other avenues
to pursue gang activity,” he
said.
The Eastern Oregon city
of Nyssa has a gang data-
base, but its police chief said
he doesn’t feel it’s necessary
to track gang activity that
way.
“We don’t contribute to
it,” said Chief Raymond Rau.
“I’ve been a gang officer
in Milton-Freewater, I’ve
worked with Umatilla and
Morrow counties. I know
who the gang members are,
and my guys do.”
Rau,
who
replaced
Stokoe as Nyssa’s police
chief, said the database was
run by the Malheur County
District Attorney’s Office,
but he hadn’t seen many
updates from them recently.
–——
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com
Fall
silent auction
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live music
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Playboys
Saturday
September 30
social hour: 4:00 pm
light dinner: 5:00 pm
HERITAGE STATION MUSEUM COURTYARD
tickets $25 per person
Purchase at market booth on fridays, from any PFM
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Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5pm
Promotion ends Nov. 11.
License #188965
*No purchase necessary. Must be 21 years of age to enter. One entry per day.
All proceeds from the Fall Festival support the Pendleton Farmers Market