3 Bend PD officers on leave after woman shot, seriously wounded on Hwy. 20E

Encounter followed pursuit; investigation closes Hwy. 20 for 12 hours

(Update: Adding video, drivers' comments )

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Bend woman who police said was driving erratically near the St. Charles Bend ER early Monday morning was pursued on Highway 20 east of Bend, eventually running off the road, where she was shot and seriously wounded by officers trying to arrest her, officers said.

Three Bend Police officers have been placed on paid administrative leave due to the shooting and investigation, which prompted law enforcement to close a 17-mile stretch of the highway for close to nine hours.

Around 1:45 p.m., ODOT flaggers re-opened one lane alternating directions of traffic between mileposts 26 and 43. Both lanes were open again before 4 p.m., ODOT reported.

NewsChannel 21 spoke with some drivers stuck at the roadblock, including delivery truck drivers who said they were way behind schedule.

One of the drivers, Roy Ellis, was heading to Colorado and had been stuck in traffic for at least two hours. He said he didn't see the point in turning around and finding a detour because he didn't know how much longer it would take.

"You've got a 14-hour electronic clock to work with," Ellis said. "After 3 hours, you give up all your free time. After that, you get 11 hours to drive a. It starts biting into that 11-hour drive time, which is where you make your money."

Jenny Reynolds was hauling horses to Boise, Idaho, when she got stuck in the backup. She said she had been waiting for about an hour and a half.

"We’re safe, nobody's dying," she said. "We’re good. Let the police do their job."

Eddy Nelson, a FedEx truck driver from La Pine, told NewsChannel 21 he had been waiting for the lanes to reopen since 5:30 a.m. He said he just wants to make his deliveries in time.

"I was the second in line after they shut the road down, and it is now after noon," Nelson said. "I'm not angry. But, you know, being a truck driver it all pays the same."

An initial investigation found that a Bend police officer was at the hospital for an unrelated incident, Lt. Juli McConkey said. Around 3 a.m., hospital security flagged down an officer to help with a woman, later identified as Danielle Nicole Bower, 29, in front of the Emergency Department.

"As officers attempted to contact Bower, they observed her to act in an erratic manner and had blood on her," McConkey said in a news release.

While officers tried to contact Bower, who was driving a white Dodge Caravan, "she drove over curbs, across landscaping and grass in an attempt to elude officers," McConkey said.

Officers initiated a pursuit through the city that led east on U.S. Highway 20, toward Brothers, assisted by Deschutes County sheriff's deputies and Oregon State Police troopers, McConkey said.

Bower's van left the highway nearly 40 miles east of Bend, near milepost 39, where it came to a stop, police said.

"When officers attempted to contact and arrest Danielle Bower, they fired their weapons and she sustained injuries," McConkey wrote, declining to provide further details due to the active investigation.

The officers on scene rendered aid and called for medics, learning an air ambulance was not available, McConkey said. Officers then decided to bring Bower back to Bend for medical care in their patrol cars. They met Bend Fire medics east of Bend and the ambulance brought Bower to the hospital, where McConkey said she was being treated for serious injuries.

The Major Crime Team was activated to assist in the investigation, coordinating with the district attorney's office, which will provide more details as available, McConkey said. OSP is the lead investigating agency, she added.

ODOT initially reported the highway closed early Monday morning due to undisclosed "police activity." A long backup of trucks and other vehicles grew from Bend as the investigation continued.

The first ODOT report, around 5:15 a.m., indicated a five-mile stretch, between mileposts 38 and 43, was closed in both directions between mileposts 26 and 43 "due to police activity. Lengthy closure anticipated. No detour at this time. ODOT on scene."

About a half-hour later, the closure was expanded to between mileposts 26 and 43, a 17-mile stretch of the highway. At least one online police dispatch frequency also was offline.