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OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
SHOOTING: BB guns were among several items stolen from Walmart
Continued from 1A
and Cpl. Jon Lehman.
Pendleton police at 8:46 p.m.
received a dispatch call regarding a
theft in progress at Walmart, 2203
S.W. Court Ave., and Reddington
and Lehman each drove to the
store.
Reddington arrived first and
saw a man matching the theft
suspect’s description in the parking
lot, according to the lengthy and
detailed statement from Shirtcliff.
That suspect was Hoisington.
Reddington twice asked to talk
to him, according to Shirtcliff, but
the suspect ignored the requests
and walked through the parking
lot. Reddington identified himself
as police and ordered the suspect
to stop. Lehman arrived and began
moving toward the suspect on foot.
“The suspect then took
off running and the officers
followed in pursuit,” Shirtcliff
stated. Hoisington reached into
his waistband and Reddington
yelled to Lehman the suspect was
“reaching.”
The two officers drew their
handguns and started to re-holster
them when Hoisington stopped
reaching for his waistband.
The foot pursuit continued,
and Reddington saw the suspect
reach for his waistband again and
lift his coat, Shirtcliff reported.
At this point, Reddington saw
what looked like the butt end of
a semi-automatic pistol in the
suspect’s waistband.
Reddington yelled out the
suspect had a gun.
Lehman
and
Reddington
continued the pursuit. Shirtcliff
stated the officers commanded
Hoisington multiple times to stop
and to drop the gun. They ran past
Taco Bell, near the intersection
of Southwest Court Avenue and
20th Street, then turned back
toward Walmart. While running,
Hoisington turned his upper body
toward Reddington and raised the
gun in his left hand, indicating
he was going to point the gun at
Reddington.
“Sgt. Reddington fired multiple
shots,” Shirtcliff stated, “two of
which struck the suspect.”
One round hit Hoisington in
the lower left buttocks and the
other hit below his left armpit and
exited through the front chest area.
Hoisington went to the ground.
Witnesses noted a handgun near
Hoisington, and another was about
6 feet from him.
“Both guns were BB guns,”
Shirtcliff reported. “And the inves-
tigation showed that these guns
were among several items stolen
from Walmart.”
The BB guns, however, look like
real guns. Multiple witnesses told
police they appeared real, “having
the same color and configuration to
a Colt 1911-style semi-automatic
handgun.”
“All of the investigatory
materials, witness statements and
medical records are consistent with
Hoisington continuing to ignore
the officers’ commands to stop
and drop his weapon,” according
to Shirtcliff. “Hoisington was
running from the officers when
he turned his body back towards
Sgt. Reddington while lifting what
appeared to be a real semi-auto-
matic pistol upward in the direction
of the officer.”
Reddington was concerned
Hoisington would fire the gun
at him or Lehman and could
endanger innocent citizens, Shirt-
cliff continued, and “at that point
was clearly justified in using force
against Hoisington.”
Roberts said he was incredulous
Hoisington was willing to risk his
life and endanger others for a BB
gun. He also called the situation
aggravating.
Manufacturers of toy guns have
made them less realistic over the
years, but Roberts said people use
these type of “replicas” to commit
crimes, yet they carry less of a risk
factor in terms of offenses. Felons
can pack this type of BB gun and
not face a crime for possession of a
weapon, and people can carry them
concealed without a permit, unlike
a real gun in Oregon.
The two BB guns are exactly
alike and look real, he said, right
down to the checkered butt — and
that’s what the officers were trying
to decipher during the high-stress
moment at night on a dark street.
An ambulance took Hoisington
to St. Anthony Hospital, Pend-
leton, and later an air ambulance
flew him to Oregon Health and
Science University, Portland. After
his release, OHSU University
Police arrested Hoisington on a
felony warrant for second-degree
robbery in Washington and booked
him into the Multnomah County
Inverness Jail, Portland.
Theft and other charges
regarding Hoisington’s actions in
Pendleton are under review.
Roberts said this was a tough
situation and one nobody enjoys,
regardless of the finding. Still, this
is good news for the officers and
the department, he said, which
endured some staffing challenges
while the pair were on leave during
the investigation.
And while Reddington and
Lehman both passed psychological
exams, the chief said the shooting
carries a risk of delayed reaction
to trauma, which the officers and
supervisors must be attentive to
going forward.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.com or
541-966-0833.
Christopher Oertell/Pamplin Media Group
Liberty High School students show off their diplo-
mas during a graduation ceremony at Hillsboro
Stadium June 10. An audit from the Secretary of
State’s Office is critical of the Oregon Department
of Education’s efforts to increase graduation rates.
AUDIT: State could improve
graduation rates by identifying
specific groups who are struggling
Continued from 1A
The audit also found that
more than 70 percent of
pupils who don’t graduate
on time come from low-in-
come households. The
likelihood of their failure
to graduate often becomes
evident as early as middle
school, yet the education
department has neglected
addressing middle-school
performance and improving
the transition to high school,
according to the audit.
Auditors said the state
could improve graduation
rates by identifying specific
groups of students who are
struggling and targeting
programs toward them.
The education department’s
plans have focused on
students of color, migrants
and English language
learners. But auditors
found that the agency could
yield better results if it also
tracked and used improve-
ment tools among pupils
who transfer between
districts, come from low-in-
come households and are in
middle school.
Auditors recommended
that the education depart-
ment collect data on indi-
vidual students’ grades and
credit attainment to analyze
and identify when students
most often fall behind,
courses with high failure
rates, and how performance
in specific courses affects
graduation. The agency
then needs to draw from
education research and
practices in successful
districts to better support
students in transition and
in schools with mid-range
graduation rates, the audit
said.
“The ODE must aggres-
sively assess and assist
school districts if they are
to provide the help students
need to be successful
in school and graduate
on-time,” Richardson said.
Auditors acknowledged
that the education depart-
ment and schools face some
limitations in financing
some of the work needed
to boost graduation in the
state. The state Legislature
does not fully fund schools,
as prescribed by the state’s
Quality Education Model.
Colt Gill, acting deputy
superintendent of schools,
largely agreed with the
findings of the audit.
“Many of the themes in
the audit are consistent with
what we have identified in
recent years, and we look
forward to using the audit
results to move our work
forward,” Gill wrote in a
Dec. 14 letter to Audits
Division Director Kip
Memmott.
Some statewide plans
and funding to boost
on-time graduation already
are in the works. Those
plans focus on reducing
chronic
absenteeism,
preventing students from
dropping out and increasing
access to college-level
courses in high school
and to career technical
education. The state’s
two-year budget allocates
$170 million to increase
graduation rates and $7.4
million to reduce chronic
absenteeism.
Full-day
kindergarten also started in
2015 to try to help students’
long-term outcomes.
———
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
France passes law to ban all
oil and gas production by 2040
PARIS (AP) — France's
parliament has approved a
law banning all explora-
tion and production of oil
and natural gas by 2040
within the country and its
overseas territories.
Under that law that
passed a final vote
on Tuesday, existing
drilling permits will not
be renewed and no new
exploration licenses will
be granted.
The French govern-
ment claims the ban is a
world first. However, it
is largely symbolic since
oil and gas produced in
France accounts for just
1 percent of domestic
consumption. The rest is
imported.
Environment Minister
Nicolas Hulot says the
law shows “current gener-
ations can take care of
future generations.”
The ban is part of a
larger plan to wean the
French economy from
fossil fuels and to fulfill
France's
commitments
under the Paris climate
agreement to curb global
warming.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
This is the third year in a row that La Ley 99.5 FM general manager Gaudencio Filipe has performed his roof top
publicity stunt to help families in need during the holiday season.
ROOF: Has done the same stunt in Pasco for a few years
Continued from 1A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
La Ley 99.5 FM general manager Gaudencio Filipe talks
on the phone while camped out on the roof of Fiesta
Foods on Tuesday in Hermiston.
poverty. People can donate
items and drop them off at the
La Ley van parked in front
of the store, or can purchase
food from Fiesta Foods and
drop it off on their way out.
Clara Bea Fitzgerald, a
city councilor and member
of the city’s Hispanic
Advisory
Committee,
knows Felipe from her time
broadcasting on the radio
station’s “La Voz de Puebla,”
giving information about city
services, business, education
and more.
She said Felipe has done
the same stunt at the Pasco
Fiesta Foods for a few years
now and decided to do it in
Hermiston to collect more
donations.
“The reason he’s up there
is he is transmitting live,
and asking people to donate
food and clothing for needy
children,” she said.
La Ley’s Facebook page
shows video feeds Felipe
has posted from the roof,
conversing with Fiesta Foods
shoppers down below.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
COLLEGE: Ryan Lacey said it only gets harder after Year 1
Continued from 1A
to join their student govern-
ments at their future schools.
Besides a way to get involved,
Griffin said members of
student government can earn
money that can help toward
tuition.
Daysha Denight high-
lighted the University of
Oregon’s first-year interest
groups, an optional program
that groups 20 first-year
students into three courses
connected by an overarching
theme. Denight’s group
was called “Twelve Bars of
Freedom” that explored the
connections between the
justice system and American
blues music.
“I feel like I know every-
thing about American justice,”
she said, smiling. “I don’t. But
I feel smarter, and that’s what
matters.”
Multiple panelists warned
the audience against getting
complacent with student
academics, especially if they
failed to seek out help.
“I feel like high school
gives you a false idea of
retakes,” said Haley Bradley,
an Eastern Oregon University
student.
Bradley and several other
panelists said their are no
do-overs for failed exams, and
one failed test could mean the
difference between passing
and failing a class.
Unlike the panelists, Ryan
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Abby Rinehart, center, talks about attending Oregon State University while sitting
on a panel college students sharing their experience at college Tuesday with
students at Pendleton High School.
Lacey, a second-year student
at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University in Daytona Beach,
Florida, has been at college for
more than a few quarters or a
single semester. He is part of
the East Oregonian’s ongoing
“Promise & Potential” series
following eight local gradu-
ates from the Class of 2016.
Lacey’s advice echoed
the panel’s in some ways.
He suggested a gap year for
anyone that needs time to
learn how to manage their
time independently.
“How you do in college
is largely dependent on
how well you can manage
yourself when no one else is
watching,” he wrote in a text
message.
Lacey wrote that it only
gets harder after Year 1,
and if a student is starting to
struggle with their introduc-
tory courses, it might require
refocusing their major.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
“How you do in
college is largely
dependent on
how well you can
manage yourself
when no one else
is watching.”
— Ryan Lacey,
a second-year student
at Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University