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When police shoot Investigators will follow a 6-year-old set of rules in looking into last week's shooting by JACNET's commander By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Guns drawn, two officers faced a bloodied man who was yelling at them to kill him. The man lunged at Rogue River police officer Roger Bigham and Chief Ken Lewis, ignoring the officers' warnings to stop. He fumbled at a bulge near his waist where something black was barely visible. Bigham pulled the slack out the trigger on his Glock handgun. At the last possible instant, the suspect raised his hands. He had no weapon. "One micrometer closer, and I was gonna have to shoot him," said Bigham. If Bigham had fired last Thursday, the shot most likely would have killed 41-year-old Michael Herman Aubrey, who minutes earlier had attacked his ex-girlfriend with a steak knife. It would have been the county's second officer-involved shooting in two days. Officer-involved shootings April 1963 - Medford officer William Hall shot an 18-year-old armed robbery suspect at the Spring Street Grocery store. May 1969 - A 17-year-old San Jose, Calif., boy died in a hail of police gunfire. He led police on a chase from Yreka, Calif., but was stopped on Interstate 5 near Talent. He fired at officers, who returned fire. May 1974 - Medford officer Gary Armstrong shot a 21-year-old robbery suspect who fire a gun at him at West Main and Peach streets. January 1987 - Medford officer Randy Schoen shot a 56-year-old man involved in a domestic dispute on Grape Street. February 1989 - One man was killed when police attempted to serve a search warrant at a methamphetamine laboratory in Wimer. Officers were greeted with gunfire and fired back. October 1990 - Six Medford officers shot and killed a man who robbed the downtown U.S. Bank in a clown outfit. April 1995 - Medford officer Rick McMullen shot an assault suspect, Oscar Aguilar, 17, after the youth pulled out a rifle during a struggle at 830 E. Ninth St . August 1996 - Mark Lawson, a Eureka, Calif., drug suspect, was killed by police after he crashed his sports car on Interstate 5 and fled on foot. Believing Lawson was armed, Medford officer Keith Mak shot and killed Larson. Feb . 13, 1998 - Donald Rozelle, 33, of Medford was shot and killed after he charged at Medford officer Phil Eastman with a knife. Feb. 27, 1998 - Police killed William Paul Kincaid, 43, of Medford, after he pulled a loaded gun on officers who were called to his apartment. December 1999 - Cole Smith, of Grass Valley, Calif., was shot more than 20 times after a standoff with officers in the Oregon State Police headquarters parking lot in Central Point. Smith said he had a gun and would shoot. When he ran at police with a black object - which turned out to be a razor case - in his hand, officers opened fire. November 2000 - Mark Leroy Vincent, 39, of Central Point was killed when sheriff's deputies Charles Retzer and James Biddle tried to take him into custody for psychological observation. He threatened them with a hunting knife. After he fired at a young Hispanic man approaching his unmarked police car on April 2, Lt. Jim Anderson, commander of the Jackson County Narcotics Enforcement Team, was placed on administrative leave. Jorge Armando Cisneros, 24, was charged with harassment and third-degree criminal mischief after he threw a box of Chinese food into Anderson's Dodge Durango. Jose Pepe Banuelos, 24, was charged with reckless driving and possession of methamphetamine. Both were released on bail last Wednesday. Monday, the 52-year-old lieutenant was back on light duty at JACNET. Twelve detectives from four Rogue Valley agencies are investigating. A grand jury is tentatively scheduled to hear the case next week and will determine if criminal charges should be filed against Anderson, said District Attorney Mark Huddleston. "I think we'd be remiss in our duties if we didn't do the best investigation possible for the officer and the public," said Medford police Lt. Tim George. "We have to." George served on a countywide committee that in 1996 established a protocol for investigating officer-involved shootings. Ashland, Central Point and Medford police departments along with Oregon State Police, the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office formulated and agreed to follow a protocol that's used any time a police officer fires a weapon in a lethal situation anywhere in the county. Because the shot was fired inside the city limits, the Medford Police Department has jurisdiction on the case. Medford detective Terry Newell is the case agent and will submit all reports to the district attorney's office. Huddleston said he plans to present the case to the grand jury himself, largely because he responded to the shooting scene. George said the need for the most skilled detectives investigating an officer-involved shooting fueled the interagency agreement. The lead investigator in these cases is never an employee of the department being investigated, he added. A conflict of interest in the investigation is most likely more of an issue in the eyes of the public than for police, said sheriff's Capt. Ed Mayer. The investigation is more credible, however, when more than one agency is involved, he said. Once the grand jury deliberates, the sheriff's office will complete its internal investigation of Anderson. Unlike in the criminal investigation during which officers have constitutional rights against self-incrimination, Anderson will be compelled to give statements in the internal investigation about why he pulled the trigger, Mayer said. "I'm not prepared yet to say anything was done wrong," Mayer said. Oregon law allows police officers to use deadly physical force when it's necessary to defend officers or civilians from serious injury or death. Individual police department policies can restrict officers further. Policies of many Oregon agencies, such as the sheriff's office and Medford police, outline specific procedure for the use of force. Reports are filed with the sheriff's office and reviewed by a sergeant, lieutenant, captain and sheriff whenever an employee uses force. Internal investigations may be warranted if the use of force doesn't conform to department policies. Mayer said that as far as he knows, the sheriff's office has never conducted an internal investigation of Anderson in his 23-year service. "Lt. Anderson wouldn't have made it up through the ranks to the commander of JACNET if he had been an abuser of anything in his career," Mayer said. Sheriff's deputies train with firearms several times per year. Twice a year, they must strike a certain number of targets to maintain their certification with a handgun. Other training sessions create scenarios and simulate shooting suspects, said Sgt. Terry Wilson. Bigham - who has been with Rogue River Police Department about a year and a half - has had some time to think over the arrest he made Thursday and the factors that led him to a critical decision - not to take a person's life. "Sometimes you just gotta go by what your gut's telling you ... the guy really didn't want to hurt me," Bigham said. "You don't just shoot a person for running at you." Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.