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Autopsy: Cole Smith was shot 21-23 times Grand jury to convene Jan. 14 shooting review By PETER WONG Cole Younger Smith was struck by just about all the 22 bullets that three Medford police officers fired when he charged at police last week, according to autopsy results disclosed Monday. District Attorney Mark Huddleston said results of the autopsy, which was performed Thursday and Friday, will be presented to a Jackson County grand jury Jan. 14. A Medford police sergeant and two officers were on paid administrative leave pending the presentation, which centers on the Dec. 28 shooting in the parking lot of the Oregon State Police office in Central Point. Huddleston said Dr. James Olson, deputy state medical examiner, estimated that Smith was struck by "between 21 and 23 bullets" and concluded that Smith died of multiple gunshot wounds. The bullets came from three guns. Sgt. Jerry Burchfiel and officer Cory Schwab were armed with .40-caliber semi-automatic pistols, and officer Steven Furst was armed with a 9mm rifle. Initial reports said Smith, who was 25, was hit more than a dozen times in the neck, chest, arm and stomach. Olson described the manner of death as "legal intervention," a term that can cover a variety of situations, including officers firing in self-defense. After a tense 90-minute standoff on the night of Dec. 28, Smith died after he rammed two patrol cars, got out of his pickup truck and charged at officers, who saw an object in his hands and feared he had shot an officer who tripped and fell. Non-lethal beanbags were fired at Smith by a Medford officer and a Central Point officer. Although Smith told police negotiators he was armed with a 9mm pistol and wanted to kill police, the object turned out to be a chrome-handled safety razor in a black case. Huddleston said in a news conference the day after the shooting that Smith had no gun. Police say they still were uncertain why Smith chose the Oregon State Police parking lot for a confrontation. He was thrown out by his wife in Philomath, west of Corvallis, and apparently was headed to Grass Valley, Calif. His wife, Jennifer, was called by a State Police dispatcher but was put on hold for 30 minutes and was told she would be called back. She wasn't. She and a relative have raised questions about what happened. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA