Polk County News
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 29, 2017
Jury: Sheriff says criminals are more ‘brazen’
Continued from Page 1A
He said after decades of
having no fatal officer-in-
volved shootings, law en-
forcement departments in
Polk County have been in-
volved in three in 18 months.
“My experience tells me
criminals have become more
brazen than ever before,”
Garton wrote. “This is alarm-
ing, and it should raise con-
cern for everyone.”
He said suspects officers
encounter now are more
likely to resist arrest or led of-
ficers on vehicle chases. He
said in recent years, deputies
have encountered suspects
who deliberately drive into
oncoming traffic to get police
to stop pursuing them.
“Ten years ago in Polk
County, we didn’t have the
kind of issues with criminals
that we have now,” he said.
“There’s a different mentali-
ty.”
With the grand jury deci-
sion announcement, District
Attorney Aaron Felton includ-
ed details of what happened
the morning of the shooting
before and during the con-
frontation.
Early that morning, Salem
Police officers tried to appre-
hend Escalona-Baez after his
mother reported that he had
taken her Ford Explorer with-
out permission, according
the report.
At 2:30 a.m., officers spot-
ted the 2002 Ford “driving er-
ratically and at excessive
speeds” near Silverton Road
NE in Salem. Tracing the li-
cense plate, they contacted
the teen’s mother in Silverton.
“When Salem Police at-
tempted to contact
Escalona-Baez, he led multi-
ple police cars on a high-
speed pursuit through Salem
and over the Marion Street
Bridge into Polk County,” the
report read. “Ultimately, he
reversed course at approxi-
mately Highway 22 and 52nd
Avenue and drove east back
into downtown Salem.”
Officers decide to call off
the pursuit, but identified the
driver as Escalona-Baez
using his Department of
Motor Vehicles photo.
At about 4 a.m., Marion
County Sheriff ’s Office
deputies responded to a re-
ported carjacking in the
parking lot of the Safeway at
the corner Silverton Road
and Lancaster Drive in
Salem.
“The victim reported that
a man in a white Ford Ex-
plorer had forced him off the
road, pulled him from his ve-
hicle (a black 2015 Toyota
sedan), and threatened him
with what appeared to be a
weapon in his pocket,” the
report stated.
Believing the Toyota was
headed toward Polk County,
Ha y n e s , a n d d e p u t i e s
Lorence and Mike Stevenson
separately responded to in-
tercept the vehicle. They
found the Toyota near Bas-
kett Slough, the report said.
The pursuit reached
speeds of 80 to 100 mph, and
Escalona-Baez repeatedly
drove into oncoming traffic
and the highway shoulder,
according to the report.
Deputies were in marked
cars with lights and sirens
on. Dispatch informed the
officers that the suspect had
been armed at the time of
the carjacking, the report
said.
At about 4:25 a.m., Grand
Ronde Tribal Police Officer
Ron Welborn attempted to
stop the vehicle near the in-
tersection of highways 22
and 18 with spike strips,
which shredded the left
front tire and slowed the ve-
hicle.
Haynes maneuvered in
front of the Toyota, blocking
it just past the Fort Hill area
near Grande Ronde. With
probable cause to arrest
Escalona-Baez and reason to
believe he was armed, the of-
ficers decided to perform a
“high-risk” traffic stop, the
report stated.
With weapons drawn, offi-
cers repeatedly ordered
Escalona-Baez to the ground.
“Escalona-Baez quickly
came out of his vehicle and
refused to obey the deputies’
verbal commands, walking
directly towards Sgt. Haynes,”
the report said. “Sgt. Haynes
physically moved him back-
ward with his foot away from
the open door of his patrol
vehicle to prevent him from
gaining entry.”
Lorence also struggled
with Escalona-Baez to get
control of him.
Standing two arm lengths
a w a y, Ha y n e s n o t i c e d
Escalona-Baez holding a 5-to
6-inch fixed blade knife.
He yelled, “He’s got a
knife,” to the other officers
and told Escalona-Baez to
drop the weapon.
According to the report,
Escalona-Baez didn’t follow
that command and walked
toward Haynes’ patrol vehi-
cle. Haynes repeated his
command to drop the knife.
“Escalona-Baez, still with-
in arm’s reach of Haynes,
turned around and advanced
directly towards Haynes,
pointing the knife towards
him,” the repor t said.
“Haynes then shot Escalona-
Baez twice. Deputy Lorence,
standing next to Sgt. Haynes,
also shot twice.”
Deputies and first-respon-
ders provided medical atten-
tion to Escalona-Baez, but he
died of his wounds at the
scene, the report said.
The grand jury heard testi-
mony from the three in-
volved Polk County Sheriff’s
deputies. Also testifying were
detectives from the Oregon
State Police and two citizen
witnesses.
Members of the grand jury
also reviewed scene photos,
report of the Oregon State
Medical Examiner’s Office, as
well as 911 and other audio.
The grand jury found deadly
force was justified because:
“The use of physical force
was necessary to defend the
police officer or another per-
son from the use or threat-
ened imminent use of deadly
physical force;” and “the offi-
cer’s life or personal safety
was endangered in the par-
ticular circumstance in-
volved.”
Addressing the Oct. 28 in-
cident specifically, Garton
said he believes the officers
on the call didn’t have the
option of using less lethal
means to subdue Escalona-
Baez. He said the suspect
was too close to officers to
use a Taser.
“ W h a t i f t h e Ta s e r
missed?” Garton said. “He
would have been stabbed
and wouldn’t have time to
draw his weapon.”
Garton said he’s willing to
answer any questions people
may have about his depart-
ment’s policies and proce-
dures or officer training. He
encourages people to re-
quest a ride-along to see the
day-to-day duties of deputies
on shift.
“I would talk to anybody,”
he said. “We’re doing a better
job, but we aren’t doing a
great job of talking to people
about what we do.”
Though he said he’s not
against the practice, sheriff’s
office deputies don’t wear
body cameras at this time.
Garton said he’s preparing
his office for incorporating
their use in the future. He
said now the issue isn’t the
cost of buying the cameras,
but of updating policies re-
garding their use and storing
the data they record.
Garton said if you are
going to have body cameras,
they must be on during all
interactions, otherwise it de-
feats the purpose of having
them. That means storing
video from each 12-hour
shift.
State law requires the
agency retain all footage for
a specific amount of time.
Any footage used as evi-
dence in a case is required
to be stored longer. In addi-
tion, any video released to
the public has to be redact-
ed to protect the identity of
some who appear in the
footage.
“I don’t have another per-
son to sit down to do that,”
Garton said, noting he be-
lieves that soon law will re-
quire all officers to use body
cameras.
Library to remain open through at least Aug. 31
Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
FALLS CITY — The Wagn-
er Community Library will
remain open at least until
Aug. 31, enough time to
complete the 2018 summer
reading program.
The Falls City City Coun-
cil had approved closing the
library on June 30, 2018, fol-
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lowing a closing procedure
that requires two public
hearings. At its Nov. 9 meet-
ing, the council was sched-
uled to approve a timeline
for the closing process.
Wagner Library Advisory
Committee Chairwoman
Amy Houghtaling requested
the council move the clos-
ing date to accommodate
the summer program.
Wagner received a grant
to pay for its summer read-
ing program, funding it
would lose if the library
closed before the series
ended.
“The summer reading
program is a huge benefit to
our kids,” Houghtaling said.
Terr y Ungricht, Falls
City’s acting city manager,
said moving the closing
date would cost about
$11,000. He said the fund-
ing is available in the Wagn-
er account.
“If we have the funding,
we absolutely should,” said
Councilor Lori Jean Sickles.
Houghtaling said the
committee, Falls City School
Board member Bob Young
and Librarian Andy Rommel
discussed the most-used
services at the library at the
committee’s last meeting.
“I asked the question:
What needs is the Wagner Li-
brary meeting and is there
another way to meet those
needs?” Houghtaling said.
Rommel said computer
use, the summer reading
program and book checkout
for home-school families.
“We talked about other
ways that those needs can
be met,” Houghtaling said.
For more, go to
polkio.com.