Latest Oregon News, Sports, Business, and Entertainment at 9:20 p.m. PDT
OREGON LAWMAKER BREACH COVID
GOP lawmakers in Oregon Capitol to protest has indicted COVID
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A Republican lawmaker who authorities said allowed violent protesters to enter the Oregon Capitol in December says he has contracted COVID-19. Rep. Mike Nearman said on a conservative radio talk show that he had a really bad case of COVID and was a little bit on the mend. Nearman will be heard Tuesday in Marion County Circuit Court for first degree misconduct and second degree felony for violating the State Capitol on December 21 by people protesting coronavirus restrictions. Nearman says he will go to court.
PORTLAND POLICE FEDERAL COMPLIANCE
Portland: The government is responsible for the police failure to reach the settlement
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Portland city officials welcome constructive criticism from federal Justice attorneys who determined the police bureau’s failure to comply with the use of force of a law enforcement officer. But the Oregonian / OregonLive reports also accuse the federal government of contributing to the mistakes. The prosecutor on Friday, in response to the Department of Justice’s formal notice of non-compliance, wrote that federal government behavior on the streets of Portland last summer made a difficult situation much worse. If the two sides cannot negotiate an agreement on allegations that the city has failed to comply with key reforms, they will likely meet again in front of U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon.
STATE FORESTER WITHDRAWAL
Oregon’s embattled forester Peter Daugherty resigns
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon’s state forester and longtime Forestry Director Peter Daugherty has resigned effective May 31. The Oregonian / OregonLive reported Friday that Daugherty had filed his resignation with the State Board of Forestry. Daugherty has led the agency since 2016 and his tenure has been marked by the department’s financial troubles, a dysfunctional relationship with the forestry department, and a loss of confidence from state lawmakers. That’s all as the agency is looking for an infusion of new resources to better respond to increasingly severe forest fire seasons. Daugherty’s resignation comes after a damning report from an outside accounting consultant describing a fundamental lack of financial controls and oversight by the agency.
KLAMATH BASIN COURT DECISION
Judge Mermaid reduced the Klamath River rivers for suckling fish
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) – A judge ruled against the Klamath tribes in a lawsuit accusing a federal agency of violating the Endangered Species Act by causing the water level in a key lake to be too low for sucker fish to spawn. U.S. District Judge Michael McShane declined to stop the release of water into the Klamath River to maintain levels in Upper Klamath Lake. A severe drought pitted the water needs of two types of protected fish – sucker fish and salmon – against each other. Both fish are valued by various regional tribes.
POLICE BODY CAMERAS
Portland Police Department expands body camera program
TIGARD, Ore. (AP) – Police in the Tigard suburb of Portland have announced the expansion of their body-worn camera range. KPTV reports that the Tigard Police Department says all of their officers will have the cameras in the next month. Police say the city council recently approved the body camera extension and the department has been investigating the issue over the past few years. Tigard police said the department had had dash cameras and restricted body cameras for some officers for more than 10 years, but these systems needed to be replaced. The upgrade also includes new in-car video systems, tasers, interview room technology and digital storage.
IDAHO RECORDING
Shooting in Idaho: Very Few School Incidents by Girls
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Authorities say they are trying to find out what prompted a young girl to open fire in a rural Idaho middle school, one of the few school shootings in which the suspect is female. Police say the girl pulled a gun from her backpack on Thursday morning and shot two other students and an adult steward. All three victims were shot in the extremities and none had life-threatening injuries. Steve Anderson, Jefferson County’s sheriff, says the investigation will likely “take a considerable amount of time”. Figures compiled by the group The Violence Project show that girls and women only commit 2% of mass and school shootings in the United States
NEWSPAPER ADAPTER
Public Prosecutor: The paper carrier acted in self-defense when shooting
Clark County Attorneys will not file a criminal complaint against a contract newspaper owner who fatally shot and killed a man in Vancouver, Washington last month. According to Colombian reporting authorities, the man who was killed, identified as 29-year-old Kin K. Bossy, tried to steal the aircraft carrier’s car on the Vancouver waterfront on April 17 when he was shot multiple times. The Columbian independent newspaper hauler, identified by police as 35-year-old Justyn Vallandingham, shot Bossy after finding him in his vehicle. In a letter to a Vancouver police officer, Assistant Attorney General Jeff McCarty wrote Thursday that Bossy appeared to have committed a crime against Vallandingham who feared imminent danger or death.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT
Ex-prosecutor settles for a US $ 87,000 discrimination lawsuit
BEND, Ore. (AP) – A former Deschutes county assistant district attorney who sued the county for racial and gender discrimination resigned himself to the county for $ 87,500. KTVZ reports that District Attorney John Hummel announced the settlement on Thursday. A lawyer for Jasmyn Troncoso, who was hired in 2019, filed the tort complaint a year ago. Troncoso claimed her staff bullied her, told her she was unqualified and a drama queen, accused her of having affairs and ridiculed her for speaking Spanish. The bureau hired an investigator who found that only one allegation was well founded. Her attorney, Matthew Ellis, has denied the independence of the investigation, calling it “extremely biased.”