By MAXINE BERNSTEIN/The Oregonian/OregonLive
A Lincoln County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by state police who fatally shot a 38-year-old man last month after he barricaded himself in a Lincoln City home and then escaped to the roof with a rifle when flames spread through the residence.
The jury ruled last week, finding state police Senior Troopers Kyle Winship, Jeremy Smith, Zachary Bohince and Jacob Ferrer were justified in their use of deadly force Sept. 5.
Winship and Smith each fired a single round, striking Walker “DJ” Oliver Anderson as he lay with a rifle on a dormer roof of the home after diving out an upper window, according to the Lincoln County district attorney’s office.
Anderson’s body rolled off the roof and he was pronounced dead at the scene. He died from gunshots to the head and chest, an autopsy found.
Anderson had holed up in the home after he fired shots the day before at local officers who were investigating his dilapidated yellow school bus parked in front of a hydrant on Northwest Oak Place, according to the district attorney’s summary and Lincoln City Lt. Jeffrey Winn.
As officers took cover, the bus took off. Police found it parked in the lot of the Sea Gypsy Motel and Anderson fled on foot, running toward the beach. He also had reportedly thrown a briefcase into the ocean as he ran away, according to the district attorney’s office.
According to the district attorney’s summary, state police SWAT officers were called to help Lincoln City police find Anderson.
Smith, using his police dog Lozen, tracked the suspect to a home on the northwest corner of Northwest Jetty Avenue and 19th Street and police sought a search warrant to enter it and arrest Anderson, District Attorney Jenna Wallace wrote in a summary of the grand jury’s decision and released Monday.
A crisis negotiation team began communicating with Anderson through another person, but he immediately demanded that police back away from the house and threatened to “blow this (expletive) wide open,” according to the summary. Anderson said he was “ready to die” and asked, “Are you?” according to Wallace’s summary.
After several hours of negotiations and announcements over a police loudspeaker, police heard gunshots coming from inside the house, including one that struck a streetlight nearby. Then they saw smoke spilling out an upstairs window, according to Wallace.
State police drove an armored vehicle known as “The Rock” toward the house carrying SWAT officers, apparently in attempt to lift the officers to try to enter a window, Wallace wrote. But Anderson fired at the officers at close-range as they stood behind an armored platform, and they had to retreat, Wallace wrote.
About 15 minutes later, police heard rapid muzzle blasts coming from a sliding glass door on the north side of the home. The gunshots were directed toward SWAT officers on the east side of the residence, according to the district attorney.
Ferrer and Bohince fired into the house until Anderson stopped firing, the summary said. When the two officers saw the barrel of a rifle emerge from behind a wall and fire additional shots, they fired several more rounds into the home.
The upstairs of the home soon became engulfed in flames and police urged Anderson to surrender and come out of the house. But he instead climbed onto the roof, first tossing his rifle out the window, which slid down toward the gutter, Wallace wrote.
Troopers demanded Anderson not reach for the gun or he’d be shot, according to the summary. They saw him lying on the roof with one hand “close to the rifle” and when told not to touch the gun, he replied, “I have the gun,” Wallace wrote.
State police issued additional commands, telling Anderson if he moved the gun, he’d be shot and to “keep your hands up and visible.”
“My hand is on the gun, what are you going to do?” he replied, according to the summary.
Seconds later, Winship and Smith each fired a single round, striking Anderson, causing him to “immediately roll off the roof,” according to Wallace.
Anderson was carried away from the burning home but pronounced dead at the scene.
Anderson fired in the direction of police at least four separate times and fired more than 20 times during the standoff, the summary said.
Toxicology results showed he had methamphetamine in his urine, according to the district attorney’s office.
The grand jury found police gave Anderson multiple verbal warnings and several “reasonable opportunities to comply” and surrender but he failed to do so, according to Wallace.
- Maxine Bernstein covers federal courts and criminal justice for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach her at 503-221-8212 or mbernstein@oregonian.com
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To read Lincoln County District Attorney Jenna Wallace’s summary of the grand jury report, go here