AP-OR–2nd Right Now/1172
OFFICERS-SHOOTING JUSTIFIED
Officials: Gresham officers fatal shooting of man justified
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Multnomah County grand jury has determined that the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old man during a domestic violence call in May was justified.
Authorities say Gresham police officers Gavin Sasser and Kevin Carlson fired at Bodhi Phelps May 24 after he ran from officers, who gave chase. Phelps then allegedly threatened them with two knives.
Police say Phelps had assaulted his girlfriend and forced her into a car minutes before.
Police say witnesses reported hearing the officers tell him multiple times to drop the knives before Phelps was hit by 11 of 12 bullets fired. Phelps was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday the grand jury “determined that the use of deadly force against Mr. Phelps was justified under the criminal law.”
RANCHING STANDOFF
Refuge occupier Eric Lee Flores pleads guilty to conspiracy
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A young member of the group that occupied a national wildlife refuge in Oregon has accepted a plea deal that might keep him out of prison.
Eric Lee Flores pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to impede officers of the United States.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Dec. 8. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel said prosecutors will recommend six months of home detention.
The 22-year-old Flores is a member of the Tulalip Tribes north of Seattle. He admitted traveling to Oregon with seven firearms and performing guard duty during the occupation led by Ammon Bundy.
The occupiers wanted the federal government to relinquish public lands to locals and free two ranchers imprisoned for setting fires.
A September trial has been set for Bundy and 23 other occupiers.
UO PROVOST-RETIREMENT
UO Provost to retire in 2017
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The University of Oregon has announced that its second-highest ranking administrator will retire next year.
The Register-Guard reports that Provost Scott Coltrane has decided to retire once the 2016-17 school year is over.
Coltrane had served as the university’s interim provost in July 2013 before accepting the permanent position in February 2014. Months later, he was named university’s interim president after then-President Michael Gottfredson resigned in August 2014.
UO President Michael Schill praised Coltrane in the retirement announcement for his strategic leadership and “grace under pressure.”
During Schill’s time as interim president, he oversaw the university through the rewriting of the school’s handling of sex assault reports, faced high-profile lawsuits and a strike by the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation.
Coltrane’s annual salary is more than $377,000.
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FATAL SHOOTING-KLAMATH COUNTY
Suspect arrested in Klamath County shooting death
(Information from: Herald and News, http://www.heraldandnews.com)
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old man in a Klamath County neighborhood.
The Herald and News reports that 32-year-old Daryl Dean Hatchard was arrested on Thursday for the killing of Kameron Kevin Stewart.
Authorities had responded Thursday morning to a report of someone being shot and arrived to find Steward dead.
The incident remains under investigation.
District Attorney Rob Patridge says Stewart’s death marks Klamath County’s sixth homicide since December.
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DOOMSDAY DRILL
Responders hone parachuting, other skills at doomsday drill
SHELTON, Wash. (AP) — The parachutes slowly float down from Chinook helicopters, first carrying boxes of supplies, and later, paratroopers who use those supplies to set up a field operations center as part of a readiness drill for a megaquake and tsunami.
Thursday’s exercise was part of a four-day event that ends Friday, called Cascadia Rising, built around the premise of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake 95 miles off of the coast of Oregon that results in a tsunami. Both events would likely destroy buildings, roads and buildings and disrupt communications.
As part of the drill, the airfield and adjoining Mason County Fairgrounds has been converted into a staging area with hundreds of members of the National Guard, a tactical operations center where officials communicate directly with officials at Camp Murray, a trauma center and various equipment, including decontamination trucks.
TRAIN DERAILMENT-TRIBES
Northwest tribal leaders to highlight risks of oil trains
MOSIER, Ore. (AP) — Leaders of several Northwest tribes are gathering at the site of last week’s fiery train derailment to highlight the risks of moving volatile crude oil along the Columbia River.
The chairman of the Yakama Nation, JoDe Goudy, said in a statement Thursday that the derailment has been devastating to the town of Mosier and to people who live along the Columbia River.
The Yakama and other tribes have opposed the movement of oil and other fossil fuels through the region, saying the trains pose grave threats to public safety, the environment and their treaty-reserved fishing rights.
A 96-car train carrying crude oil from the Northern Plains’ Bakken region to Tacoma, Washington, derailed June 3 along the Columbia River. Four cars caught fire.
Union Pacific Railroad spokesman Justin Jacobs said the company takes the concerns seriously. But he says the railroad is federally obligated to transport crude oil and other commodities for its customers.
MEDICAL ERRORS
Oregon medical error reporting remains low
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — A new report shows that only 12.6 percent of eligible Oregon facilities voluntarily reported medical mistakes in 2015.
The Bulletin reports that all 59 Oregon hospitals submitted error reports, but less than 1 percent of pharmacies participated.
The Oregon Patient Safety Commission has collected error reports since 2006. State lawmakers asked the commission to publish annual reports on the types of mistakes that occurred and what contributed to them.
Carrie Parish, who runs the commission’s reporting program, says most health care sectors have been reporting more as time goes on. She couldn’t explain why so few pharmacies are participating.
According to a study by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researchers, medical errors are now believed to be the third-leading cause of death in the U.S.
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AKAWANA FIRE
Fire near Sisters, Oregon, 30 percent contained
BEND, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters backed by aircraft dropping fire retardant have a wildfire in central Oregon 30 percent contained.
The Oregon Department of Forestry says about 900 homes are still considered threatened and residents must be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. As of Thursday morning, the size of the Akawana fire north of Sisters and near Lake Billy Chinook was 1,930 acres.
The fire was caused on Tuesday by a lightning strike and was spread by strong winds. Downed trees, some felled by beetles, added fuel to the fire.
The Central Oregon Fire Management Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Jefferson and Deschutes County Emergency Management agencies are involved.
Gov. Kate Brown on Wednesday authorized firefighters and equipment from around Oregon to fight the wildfire.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.