The Oregon State Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred in Salem on Saturday. News reports were chaotic throughout the day, reflecting a confusing scene that involved an RV plowing into multiple police cars, and at least three separate crime scenes.
Four officers with the Salem Police Department were placed on paid administrative leave following the incident. Sergeant James Welsh, Corporal Andrew Connolly, Corporal Mark Seyfried, and Officer Pence Hodges all fired their weapons during the incident, according to the department.
It is not clear, as of Wednesday afternoon, why any of the officers fired their weapons, or at what point during the incident they did so.
The incident began around one in the afternoon when an RV was reported driving erratically and speeding on Highway 22 in Salem. After fleeing across town from officers, at times striking police cars head-on and in reverse, the RV was brought to a stop when officers laid spike strips on Hawthorne Avenue SE.
The driver, 61-year-old Roy Devoursney of Salem, got out of the RV but did not follow orders and was tased into submission. The name of the officer who deployed the taser was not released.
The Oregon State Police are leading the investigation. According to Senate Bill 111, passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2007, the investigation into a use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer must be led by an outside agency. When the investigation is complete, it will be handed over the district attorney, who will decide if it merits being heard before a grand jury.
--Sam Bouman, KBOO