Officers shoot, kill man after Hwy. 97 stop N. of Klamath Falls
(Update: Sheriff releases details of officer-involved shooting; Hwy. 97 reopens)
A 48-year-old man who assaulted an Oregon State Police trooper during a Highway 97 traffic stop north of Klamath Falls was shot and killed by other officers during a foot pursuit Friday morning, Klamath County Sheriff Chris Kaber said. A female passenger also ran, prompting a manhunt, and was found hiding in a nearby building.
The traffic stop occurred shortly before 8 a.m. near milepost 258 at Modoc Point, about 16 miles north of Klamath Falls, Kaber said. He didn’t disclose the nature of that stop in an update,
A drug-sniffing K-9 alerted on the car and the man and woman were asked to step out of the car “for investigative purposes,” the sheriff said in a news release late Friday afternoon.
The man, identified as Phillip Samuel Moskios Jr., 48 assaulted one of the OSP troopers and ran, Kaber said. During the ensuing chase on foot, Moskios was contacted by Klamath Falls police officers and a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
“Shots were fired and Phillip Moskios was fatally wounded,” Kaber said.
The woman who ran, later identified as Amanda Tammy Lynn Yost, 26, became the subject of a search involving several agencies’ officers, a K-9 unit and an aerial search.
The sheriff said nearby schools and government offices were temporarily placed on lockout status.
Yost later was located hiding in a nearby building and arrested on charges of first-degree criminal trespass and second-degree burglary, Kaber said
“There are no other subjects being sought by law enforcement at this time,” the sheriff added.
The incident is under investigation by the Klamath County Major Crime Team. Kaber said the names of the officers involved won’t be identified pending the outcome of the investigation.
The shooting investigation closed Highway 97 all day in both directions at milepost 258, 16 miles north of Klamath Falls. ODOT had a detour in place that was lifted before 5:30 p.m.
Earlier, Kaber had said, “Officers on scene are searching for a female who ran from the incident, described as a white female adult in gray sweatpants.”
The Klamath County Major Crime Team has been activated for the ongoing investigation, Kaber said, adding that more information will be released “when appropriate.”
ODOT TripCheck said earlier traffic was being detoured onto Modoc Point road to South Chiloquin Road and back onto state Highway 62. Traffic can re-access Highway 97 from Highway 62.
