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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 22, 2005 Autopsy reveals multiple wounds By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune A rifle-wielding man killed by three Medford police officers was shot approximately nine times, according to a doctor who performed the autopsy on Nicholas Vega’s body. Dr. James Olson, a forensic pathologist who serves as medical examiner for southwestern Oregon, said Vega, 35, suffered multiple wounds when struck by semi-automatic bullets and shotgun rounds during a May 11 incident at a Crater Lake Avenue apartment complex. Olson, reached Friday afternoon at his Grants Pass office, said four bullets fired from officers’ semi-automatic handguns were recovered from Vega’s body during the autopsy. Additionally, Vega was struck with a shotgun slug and approximately four rounds containing buckshot. "Each buckshot round could produce nine separate injuries," depending on how far away a shooter is from his target, Olson said. Olson was contacted after Vega’s widow, Delores Morales-Vega, phoned the Mail Tribune to say that the officer-involved shooting left her husband with about 45 holes in his body. Advertisement "I was shocked by that," said Morales-Vega. She said a Medford police detective told her four bullets fired from officers’ .40-caliber weapons struck Vega, along with five shotgun rounds. "I feel like (the officers) just went gun-happy," Morales-Vega said. Medford police officers Greg Nichols and Brandon Bloomfield and Detective Tony Young all fired on Vega, who exited an apartment in the complex at 1850 Crater Lake Ave. while holding a rifle. Vega was shot after ignoring orders to drop the weapon, police said. Oregon State Police Capt. Kurt Barthel said a preliminary investigation shows Vega "was raising the weapon toward the officers" when he was shot. Barthel did not know which of the three officers fired the shotgun during the incident. Nichols, Bloomfield and Young have been placed on mandatory paid administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome, officials said. Barthel said that generally, officers who fire on armed suspects are "shooting to stop the threat" and not to kill. But it’s not uncommon for an officer to not know how many shots he fired during a tense situation similar to the one involving Vega, he said. "Officers in an environment like that tend to get tunnel vision — everything else gets shut out," Barthel said. "You’re going on impulse until the threat stops." Police went to the apartments at about 10 a.m. on May 11 after Vega’s niece phoned 9-1-1 to say her uncle was being violent and destructive at the residence while armed with a knife. She told police she and her husband took their 14-month-old child to another room because they were frightened for their safety. After officers arrived at the scene and Vega’s relatives left their apartment, the niece warned police that Vega had a loaded rifle, police said. Investigators from several Jackson County police agencies are still compiling evidence related to the shooting. Barthel said he did not know when all reports would be completed and turned over to the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office for review. "We would like to have it done as soon as possible," Barthel said. A grand jury will eventually be asked to determine whether the three Medford officers were justified in shooting Vega. Morales-Vega said she believes police should have negotiated with her husband before the shooting. She wants another county’s grand jury to hear the case, to ensure a fair hearing. "I want those police officers charged with murder," she said, adding that she intends to file a lawsuit against police. Morales-Vega previously told the Mail Tribune she shared a quiet life with her husband until he began abusing methamphetamine a few years ago. The couple separated earlier this year after Morales-Vega obtained a restraining order against Vega. Morales-Vega said that while her husband never became violent toward her or her three children, his drug use made him a paranoid, unpredictable person. She said that she became scared and sought a restraining order against Vega after he walked through their home with a large sword, intent on fighting imaginary intruders. Investigators are awaiting toxicology test results that should determine whether Vega used drugs or alcohol before the shooting. Olson said he expects test results will be available in two to three weeks. Reach reporter Jack Moran at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] . 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