Deschutes DA: Redmond officer justified in fatal encounter

A Redmond police officer was justified in striking and fatally injuring a Redmond man who was pointing a loaded handgun at passing motorists and at officers, at a point when he was aiming at and walking toward a police sergeant on a busy street, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel ruled Wednesday.

Hummel held a news conference (live-streamed on KTVZ.COM) where he described the sequence of events and aired police dash camera and St. Charles Redmond security video of the moments leading up to the fatal injuries to Michael Gaskill, 63, on Canal Boulevard on August 25.

“Redmond Police Officer Cory Buckley struck Mr. Gaskill with his patrol car because Mr. Gaskill was threatening to shoot Redmond Police Sergeant Curtis Chambers,” Hummel said.

“Buckley’s decision was reasonable, and most likely saved Chambers’ life. Oregon law permits a person to use deadly physical force to defend another person. Consequently, Buckley’s actions did not violate Oregon law and I will not initiate criminal charges against him.”

Hummel also released all evidence from the investigation to the public on the DA’s website and YouTube channel.

Hummel said Gaskill, riding his tricycle in the area, “repeatedly pointed a loaded firearm” at at least nine members of the public, not including police who rushed to the scene. He stood in the middle of Canal Boulevard, gun in his right hand.

Last Thursday, Hummel released the names of the four Redmond police officers involved in the encounter. He said his review of the incident was delayed due to his hospitalization after a car crash in Bend.

On August 25, shortly before 1 p.m., Redmond Police were dispatched to the area of Canal Boulevard near St. Charles Redmond in response to reports of a person armed with a handgun who was allegedly pointing it at passing motorists.

“After officers arrived, it is alleged that this person pointed his gun at officers,” the district attorney said late last week.

Redmond Police Officer Derek Hicks and Detective Jonny Dickson were the first on scene, followed shortly afterward by Redmond Police Officer Cory Buckley and Sergeant Curtis Chambers, Hummel said. Each officer arrived in a separate patrol car.

“Officer Chambers exited his car and encountered the suspect, who we now know was Michael Gaskill,” the DA wrote. “During the incident, Officer Buckley struck Mr. Gaskill with his car” and Gaskill was seriously injured.

Hummel said Gaskill was rushed into the nearby hospital, then flown by AirLink helicopter to St. Charles Bend, where he died of his injuries two days later.

On Wednesday, Hummel said Chambers had approached in his car from the north and saw Gaskill had pointed his gun at Hicks. The sergeant got out of his car but struggled to remove his rifle from the rack, at which point Gaskill saw Chambers, “swung around and strode purposely toward Chambers.”

Chambers radioed others on or arriving on the scene to watch their crossfire, not just to avoid striking each other but with the hospital on one side of the street and a memory care center on the other.

“Chambers then shouted at Gaskill to ‘put it down.’ Hummel said. “Instead of putting the gun down, he raised it, pointed directly at Sgt. Chambers” and moved toward him at a “quickened pace,” the DA said.

Chambers gave up on getting the rifle, drew his handgun and ran to the back of his car to create cover. With Gaskill about 25 yards away, gun extended, Chambers raised his handgun, prepared to shoot from behind his car, but held his fire, having “determined the risk to his fellow officers was too great.” Instead, he waited until he was closer, at higher risk to himself but less risk of missing.

Buckley arrived after Hicks had reversed his patrol car, saw Gaskill pointing his gun at and approaching Chambers.

Here’s the full statement issued by Hummel:

INTRODUCTION
On August 25, 2016, 2016, at approximately 12:55 PM, Redmond Police Officer Cory Buckley intentionally struck Michael Gaskill with his patrol car. The injuries sustained from this collision were the cause of Mr. Gaskill’s death. I find Officer Buckley’s decision to strike Gaskill was legally justified; thus I will not initiate criminal charges against him.

FACTS
On the day of the incident, at approximately 12:45 PM, Michael William Gaskill, a 63-year-old Redmond resident, while riding his tricycle on North Canal Boulevard in Redmond, repeatedly pointed a loaded handgun at motorists and pedestrians1. Concerned citizens called 911, and at approximately 12:51, several Redmond Police Officers began responding to the area of the incident.

While officers were responding, Gaskill dismounted his tricycle and, while on foot and in the roadway immediately east of the St. Charles Hospital near the emergency room entrance, again repeatedly pointed his handgun at passing motorists.
Redmond officer Derek Hicks and Redmond Detective Jonny Dickson were the first on scene, followed shortly by Redmond officer Cory Buckley and Redmond Sergeant Curtis Chambers. Each officer arrived in a separate patrol car.

Officer Hicks and Detective Dickson arrived from the south. As Hicks passed NW Kingwood Avenue, the street immediately south of the hospital, he first spotted Gaskill. Gaskill was in the middle of Canal Boulevard and had a gun in his right hand. Due to the gun in Gaskill’s hand, Officer Hicks slowed down his patrol car. At that point, Officer Hicks was approximately 100 feet from Gaskill. Gaskill then raised his gun, pointed it at Officer Hicks, and walked toward Hicks’ patrol car. Officer Hicks then threw his car in reverse and hightailed it back toward NW Kingwood where Detective Dickson was and where Officer Buckley was just about to arrive.

Footnote 1 Mr. Gaskill pointed his gun at a minimum of nine members of the public, not including law enforcement.

Moments before Gaskill pointed his gun at Officer Hicks, Sergeant Chambers arrived on the scene from the north, turning onto Canal from NW Larch, which is the street immediately north of the hospital. Sergeant Chambers saw Gaskill point his gun at Officer Hicks and watched Hicks’ retreat. At that point, Sgt. Chambers pulled his car off the road on the shoulder of the northbound lane of North Canal.

Sergeant Chambers’ plan was to retrieve his rifle and address Mr. Gaskill from a distance. But Sgt. Chambers struggled to remove his rifle from the rifle rack in his car, and during this moment, Gaskill saw Chambers, swung around (Gaskill initially had his back to Chambers as he was focused on Hicks), and strode purposefully toward Chambers. Sgt. Chambers radioed to his colleagues to watch their cross fire. Chambers then shouted at Gaskill to: “Put it down!” Instead of putting the gun down, Gaskill raised it, pointed it directly at Sgt. Chambers, and quickened his pace toward him.

Sergeant Chambers then gave up on retrieving his rifle and quickly got out of his car, drew his handgun, and ran to the back of his car to create cover from the approaching Gaskill. From behind his car, and with Gaskill about 25 yards from him and still approaching with his gun extended and pointed at Sgt. Chambers, Chambers raised his handgun and prepared to shoot Gaskill.

But Chambers held his fire. He determined the risk to his fellow officers who were behind Gaskill, and to patients and staff in the St. Charles Hospital building behind Gaskill, was too great. Instead, Chambers waited. His plan was to wait until Gaskill was closer to him, thus increasing the risk to himself, but lessening the risk of missing Gaskill with a shot. Sgt. Chambers moved from the back of his car to the driver’s side of the car, and then back – all while watching Gaskill and waiting until he was close enough to take a safe shot.

Officer Buckley arrived on scene immediately after Officer Hicks had reversed his car at a high rate of speed in retreat from Gaskill’s threat on his life. Like Dickson and Hicks, Buckley arrived from the south. Detective Dickson was blocking traffic, Officer Hicks had stopped his car and was retrieving his rifle, and Officer Buckley, while in his patrol car, observed Gaskill pointing his gun at Sgt. Chambers. Officer Buckley saw Gaskill approach Chambers with his gun extended. Buckley saw Chambers using his car for cover. And Buckley had heard Chambers warn over the radio of the risk of crossfire.

Officer Buckley decided Sargent Chambers’ life was in danger and that using a gun to protect him would put Chambers, and the residents of the Countryside Living memory care facility that was located behind Gaskill and Chambers, at risk. Because of this, Buckley accelerated his patrol car and intentionally struck Gaskill.

As Buckley stepped on the gas to drive toward Gaskill, Officer Hicks yelled to Buckley: “Go, go, go!” because he too recognized that striking Gaskill with Buckley’s car was the only way to safely remove the threat to Sergeant Chambers.

The strike from Officer Buckley’s patrol car propelled Gaskill into the air. When he struck the ground, the gun was dislodged from his hand. Sergeant Chambers immediately ran to Gaskill to render aid while other officers summoned medical assistance.

Gaskill was seriously injured by the collision. He was quickly taken inside St. Charles Redmond for treatment, and then life-flighted to St. Charles Hospital in Bend. Unfortunately, on August 27th Mr. Gaskill died from his injuries.

LEGAL ANALYSIS
Oregon Revised Statutes 161.209 and 161.219 constitute Oregon’s laws regarding the use of deadly physical force. These laws apply equally to law enforcement and the general public. These statutes authorize a person to use deadly physical force against another person if they reasonably believe the other person is about to use unlawful deadly physical force against another person.

Officer Buckley says when Gaskill strode toward Sergeant Chambers with his gun extended, he feared that Gaskill would shoot Chambers. Buckley says that at the time Gaskill was striding toward Chambers with his gun extended, he was aware that Chambers could not defend himself due to the risk of cross-fire. Further, Buckley says that he could not use a gun to defend Chambers because of his own concern about the risk of cross-fire. And, finally, Buckley says that he believed that striking Gaskill with his patrol car was the best option available to protect Chambers and that if he did not act, Gaskill would have shot Chambers.

Based on all the available evidence, Officer Buckley’s belief that Gaskill was about to use deadly physical force against Sgt. Chambers is objectively reasonable. Because of this, Buckley’s decision to use deadly physical force against Gaskill is authorized by Oregon law. Consequently, I will not initiate criminal charges against Officer Buckley.

WHY?
This still leaves the question: “Why?” Why did Michael William Gaskill, a 63-year-old Redmond resident with no criminal convictions repeatedly point a gun at innocent motorists and pedestrians? Why did he point a gun at Officer Hicks? Why did he point a gun at Sergeant Chambers and approach him in a purposeful manner with his gun extended and pointed at him?

Gaskill was in crisis: He had recently received an eviction notice from his landlord. His neighbors report that he was suffering from a physical illness that they believed contributed to a mental health illness. Gaskill’s former wife reports that he was struggling with addictions to drugs and alcohol and that he thought he was being secretly monitored by the police. And the day before this incident one of Gaskill’s neighbors called the police to report that he was acting oddly.2

Why Michael Gaskill repeatedly pointed his gun at members of the public and law enforcement is unknown, but it’s reasonable to conclude that he was experiencing a mental health crisis that contributed to his actions.

CONCLUSION
Our community will not soon forget the events of August 25, 2016.

The people who had a gun pointed at them will carry with them emotional trauma from the experience.

Footnote 2 Law enforcement officers responded, talked with Mr. Gaskill, and were able to de-escalate that situation. The contact ended on a positive note with Mr. Gaskill shaking the officers’ hands.

In spite of what Michael Gaskill might have thought, he had people in his life who loved and cared for him.

Members of the public acted heroically:
–Andy Hutsell, is an Iraqi war veteran. He was driving on Canal Boulevard when he saw Gaskill point his gun at other people. Gaskill then pointed his gun at Hutsell. Hutsell said he thought he would be shot, and this brought back memories of his time in Iraq. His military training kicked in though and he drove his pick-up truck into oncoming traffic and warned other drivers to leave the area.

–Donna Fiocchi works in a rehab center near the hospital. She was driving home on Canal Boulevard when Gaskill approached her car, got within 20 feet of her and pointed his gun at her. Fiocchi thought she was going to die. Fiocchi was eventually able to get her car turned around and drive to the parking lot of her nearby office. When she was racing to get inside the building she noticed a woman pushing a baby in a stroller across the street. At risk to herself, rather than immediately going inside her building, she raced over to the woman and her child and brought them back to her office building where they remained locked inside until the incident was resolved.

The Tri-County Major Incident Team, led in this case by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Detective Steve Mangin, conducted a thorough and professional investigation and provided me with all the evidence I required to perform my analysis of the incident.

Deputy District Attorney Brandi Shroyer assisted me in my review and her experience and insight were invaluable.

Officer Buckley, with events moving quickly and the stress level high, assessed the situation, considered his options, concerned himself with the safety of bystanders, relied on his training, and then acted with laser like focus. His actions saved the life of Sergeant Chambers.

Finally, Sergeant Chamber’s actions should make our community proud. Crouched behind his car, with a man hunting him with a gun, he thought of others instead of himself. He would have been legally justified in immediately firing at Mr. Gaskill, but Sergeant Chambers held his fire to protect others. He decided to risk his life by luring Gaskill closer to him before he shot. Sergeant Chambers is a hero.

All law enforcement investigation reports in this matter are available to the public. Please contact me if you have questions about my decision.

—

Earlier information:

Buckley was hired by Redmond police in April 2014 and previously joined the Sunriver Police Department in 2002, said Redmond Police Captain Brian McNaughton.

Chambers has been with the Redmond department since 2003 and Dickson since 2000. Hicks was hired as a community service officer in 2005 and a police officer the following year.

After the crash and as the investigation began, two officers, now identified as Buckley and Chambers, were placed on paid administrative leave. McNaughton said Chambers is no longer on leave and is scheduled to return to his normal work duties on Friday.