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1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW MPD promotes Scott Clauson to deputy chief ... Open house showcases Elk Creek trail for hikers, bikers, horseback riders ... Body found floating in Lake Siskiyou identified ... MPD promotes Scott Clauson to deputy chief ... Open house showcases Elk Creek trail for hikers, bikers, horseback riders ... Body found floating in Lake Siskiyou identified ... NEW DEPUTY CHIEF MPD promotes Scott Clauson to deputy chief New Deputy Chief Scott Clauson will oversee patrol operations Comment By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat MailTribune.com By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat Posted May. 10, 2016 at 4:21 PM By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat Posted May. 10, 2016 at 4:21 PM » Social News A month after Medford police Lt. Scott Clauson returned from the FBI National Academy, Medford Police Department has named him its newest deputy chief. In his new role, announced Tuesday, Clauson oversee Medford's patrol and records divisions. He will report directly to police Chief Randy Sparacino. Clauson, who has worked for Medford police since 1995, moves up to the role after four years as a lieutenant. He has been involved in financial investigations and hostage negotiations, and he worked in the department's Gang and Street Unit, a predecessor to the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement team. On March 18, Clauson attended a 10-week program at the FBI's National Academy in Quantico, Va., a program that drew 230 leaders from police departments from across the country. “It just really opens your eyes to what’s happening outside of Medford and outside Oregon,” Clauson said. The program paired physical training with college-level classes on topics ranging from leadership and law to behavioral science and terrorist mindsets. The final fitness challenge was a 6.1-mile run known as the "Yellow Brick Road," which included hills, creeks, stairs and rope climbs among other obstacles originally designed to train marines. "That's definitely a highlight of my career," Clauson said about completing the run with his teammates after weeks of training. "It's kind of a neat way to bring it all together." Clauson joined Medford police a year after interning at the department while he was a Southern Oregon University criminology major. “My internship helped me realize Medford was a very professional agency,” Clauson said. “It was at that point I decided I didn’t want to work anywhere else but Medford.” Clauson has overcome setbacks in his more than 20 years with the department. He underwent years of physical therapy after he was shot in the leg responding to a domestic dispute near South Columbus Avenue and Prune Street in December 1999. Clauson was the first Medford officer shot in the line of duty in 67 years, archives showed. The shooter, Moises Llamas, was convicted in 2001 of attempted murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The gunshot shattered Clauson's femur in eight pieces, requiring surgery and physical therapy. It took more than a year for Clauson to return to work part time, and it was more than five years before he returned to full-time patrol duty. Although Clauson's experience isn't easily forgotten, he said response from the police department and the community made an impact on him. Colleagues visited him at the hospital often and offered him and his family meals, while people in the community sent him letters of encouragement. "You take the good with the bad," Clauson said. "I take a lot of positive experiences away from that." Clauson said he developed his work ethic early on, and remembers begging his parents to let him take on a paper route back when the Mail Tribune was an evening paper. He said he used the extra money to purchase new bikes and a keyboard to jam with friends. Summers during college he worked for the sheriff's department doing marine patrol to help pay for college, and he had a college job loading for UPS. That work experience pays off in the field today, Clauson said. It's not uncommon for him to work an eight- or 10-hour day and then have something happen that requires him to be in the field for another six hours. "You just have to be available," he said. Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat. By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat MailTribune.com By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Follow @@mtcrimebeat Posted May. 10, 2016 at 4:21 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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