Law Enforcement Officers Intentionally Killed
in the Line of Duty 1980-2014
Other
weapons: 6%
Stabbed: 11%
OREGON LAW ENFORCEMENT
DEATHS AND ILLEGAL GUNS
Explosives: 17%
An Everytown for Gun Safety analysis of FBI data
over the last 30 years shows that more than half of
Oregon police officers shot to death with guns
that were not their own were killed by people who
were likely barred from possessing firearms.
Firearm that
was not his or
her own: 50%
Firearm that
belonged to
17%
.
To conduct the analysis, Everytown obtained the
FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted
(LEOKA) database covering felonious deaths of law
enforcement from 1980 to 2011 and updated it with
additional incidents from press clippings. For all
incidents in which an officer was killed with a firearm
that was not his or her own, Everytown identified
the assailant and then researched state and federal
criminal records and contemporaneous newspaper
records to determine if the individual was prohibited
by law from possessing firearms.
Data: FBI LEOKA and press clippings, 1980-2014
Law Enforcement Officers Killed With Guns
That Were Not Their Own 1980-2014
Assailant
prohibited: 56%
Two-thirds of Oregon law enforcement intentionally
killed in the line of duty between 1980 and 2014
were killed with guns. Of the 9 Oregon law
enforcement officers shot to death during this
period with firearms that were not their own, at
least 5 — 56 percent — were killed by individuals
who were likely prohibited from possessing
firearms.
Data: FBI LEOKA and press clippings, 1980-2014
Law Enforcement Officers Killed with Handguns
80
70
Law enforcement gun homicides per 100,000 officers
Police are at the front line of gun violence, and no
single policy can completely ensure their safety—but
strong gun laws that reduce the flow of guns to
criminals can help save lives. Loopholes in Oregon’s
current laws make it all too easy for dangerous
people who are prohibited from possessing guns to
dodge a background check and buy a gun from an
unlicensed seller. Expanding background checks to
cover all gun sales—including those online—will
protect cops. In states that require background
checks for every gun sale, police are 48 percent
less likely to be killed with handguns.1
No evidence
assailant
prohibited: 44%
60
67.9
48%
50
40
30
20
10
0
WWW.EVERYTOWN.ORG
STATES THAT DO NOT REQUIRE A
BACKGROUND CHECK FOR PRIVATE
HANDGUN SALES
STATES THAT REQUIRE A
BACKGROUND CHECK FOR PRIVATE
HANDGUN SALES
SHOOTER LIKELY PROHIBITED: 5 OFFICERS KILLED
SEPTEMBER 14, 2002 | CURTIN
Korry Lee Jones, 36, shot and killed Douglas
County Deputy Sheriff Morris Taylor with a rifle.
Taylor was responding to a call regarding
public indecency at a motel when Jones
confronted him. Both were killed in the ensuing
gunfight. Jones was prohibited from
possessing firearms: In 1992, he was convicted
of possessing methamphetamine in Douglas
County, Oregon. In addition to being sentenced to 90 days in jail, the court ordered Jones to “neither own, possess nor control any
firearm or any other specified weapon.” And in 2001, Jones pled guilty to resisting arrest, escape, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and
fourth degree assault for stealing a police car and assaulting four Lane County Sheriff’s deputies; and again, in addition to three
years in prison, he was ordered not to possess firearms as part of his sentence.2
JANUARY 27, 1998 | PORTLAND
Stephen Douglas Dons, 37, shot and killed Officer Colleen Ann Waibel of the Portland Police Department with an SKS assault rifle as
she attempted to arrest Dons for operating a marijuana-growing operation. Waibel and another officer bashed in his front door and
were shot as they came down his hallway. Inside Dons’ home, police found an arsenal of weapons that included shotguns, rifles,
handguns, and a homemade grenade launcher. News reports indicate Dons has an extensive criminal record in Las Vegas and had
been convicted of obstructing a police officer, resisting arrest, resisting a police officer, battery with a deadly weapon, using a
deadly weapon in the commission of a crime, and being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.3
JULY 20, 1997 | PORTLAND
Eufronio “Antonio” Hernandez, 20, shot and killed Officer Thomas L. Jeffries of the Portland Police Department with a .38-caliber
semiautomatic handgun. Hernandez had been arguing with his girlfriend and had fled after shooting and injuring her and a
seven-year-old boy. Jeffries spotted Hernandez’s car and tried to force it to stop, at which point Hernandez shot and killed Jeffries.
Hernandez came to Oregon in early 1995 from Oaxaca, Mexico and lacked proper documentation; he was prohibited from
possessing firearms due to his immigration status.4
SEPTEMBER 30, 1992 | KLAMATH FALLS
Francisco Manzo-Hernandez, 30, shot and
killed Senior Trooper Bret Robert Clodfelter of
the Oregon State Police with a .38-caliber
handgun. Clodfelter had just arrested a drunk
driver whose passengers included Hernandez
and another man, both of whom were also
intoxicated. Clodfelter volunteered to drive the pair home to prevent them from driving drunk. While they were driving, Hernandez
shot Coldfelter twice in the back of the head. Hernandez had a long criminal history that included a felony conviction for
manufacturing narcotics, a crime that prohibited him from possessing firearms.5
-2-
SHOOTER LIKELY PROHIBITED: 5 OFFICERS KILLED (CONTINUED)
MAY 22, 1980 | KNAPPA
Michael Sture, 23, shot and killed Sergeant
James Shepherd of the Oregon State Police
with a rifle. Shepherd was investigating
reports of a marijuana grow operation when
Sture shot him twice as Shepherd approached
his hideout. Sture fled the area but was later
captured while attempting to hitchhike in
Eastern Oregon. At the time of the shooting,
Sture was out on parole after having been
sentenced to five years for unauthorized use
of a motor vehicle, a crime that prohibited him
from possessing firearms.6
NO EVIDENCE SHOOTER PROHIBITED: 4 OFFICERS KILLED
NOVEMBER 4, 2013 | OREGON CITY
Lawrence Cambra, 88, shot and killed Officer Robert Libke of the Oregon City Police Department with a revolver. Libke had
confronted Cambra outside Cambra’s burning home, which police believe Cambra intentionally set on fire. Cambra then shot and
killed himself with the same weapon. Though Cambra’s girlfriend had filed a restraining order against him that prohibited firearm
possession a year prior to the shooting, she dismissed the order two weeks later. Cambra had no other prohibiting criminal history.7
APRIL 22, 2011 | EUGENE
Cheryl Kidd, 56, shot and killed Officer Chris Kilcullen of the Eugene Police Department as he attempted to pull over Kidd for
speeding and reckless driving. Kidd fired a single shot from a .38-caliber handgun, hitting the officer in the chest. Although Kidd
was a diagnosed schizophrenic, she was never adjudicated mentally defective before a judge and therefore not prohibited from
possessing guns. Following the shooting, a Lane County Circuit judge declared Kidd mentally unfit to stand trial and committed her
to a state mental hospital.8
DECEMBER 17, 1984 | BROOKINGS
Nathan Klinefelter, 58, shot and killed Curry County Deputy Sheriff David Eugene Foster as Foster was investigating a report of a
domestic disturbance at Klinefelter’s home. As the officer was walking towards Klinefelter’s trailer, Klinefelter shot Foster once in the
chest with a high-powered rifle. Though Klinefelter admitted to punching his wife multiple times the morning of the shooting, he
lacked a criminal history prohibiting him from possessing firearms.9
MARCH 6, 1982 | GRANITE
Adeline Hollemon, 65, shot and killed Deputy Sheriff Edward A. “Bud” Morrow of the Grant County Sheriff’s Department with a
hunting rifle. Morrow was also the Mayor of the small town. Hollemon had previously fought with Morrow and arranged to ambush
him at a remote cabin. Though she was twice declared mentally unfit for trial, Hollemon was eventually convicted of murder and
sentenced to life in prison. She had no reported prohibiting criminal history.10
-3-
NOTES
1.
Everytown for Gun Safety, State Background Check Requirements and Rates of Firearm Homicide Against Law Enforcement,
January 2015, available at http://every.tw/1Aj9CVz.
2.
Court of Appeals of the State of Oregon, “Taylor v. Lane County,” Justia, last modified July 5, 2007, http://bit.ly/1EqKUJJ.
3.
David R. Anderson, “Friend: Dons Thought Police Were Would-Be Killers Shooting,” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), February 6, 1998
4.
Laura Trujillo, “Grand Jury Gets Evidence in Slaying of Police Officer,” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), July 30, 1997.
5.
“Fallen Trooper Bret R. Clodfelter,” Oregon State Police Memorial, accessed January 29, 2015, http://bit.ly/1A3Zxks.
6.
Lori Tobias, “Parole Board to Review Life Sentence of Man Who Killed Oregon State Police Sergeant,” The Oregonian (Portland, OR),
November 24, 2009, http://bit.ly/1zeqm4f.
7.
“Medical Examiner: Oregon City Gunman Committed Suicide,” Fox 12 Oregon, November 5, 2013, http://bit.ly/1v5UpeC.
8.
Aimee Green, “Wife of Eugene Police Officer Who Was Shot to Death Files $5.75 Million Lawsuit,” The Oregonian, April 18, 2013,
http://bit.ly/1AbLswj.
9.
10.
State of Oregon v. Nathan Ira Klinefelter, No. F84-12-201, (Curry County District Court) April 23, 1987.
“Adeline Hollemon Sentenced to Life in Prison for Mayor’s Murder,” Associated Press (Bend, OR), December 29, 1986,
http://bit.ly/1KdBCzh.
EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY SUPPORT FUND is an independent, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization working to improve understanding
of the causes of gun violence and the means to reduce it by conducting groundbreaking original research, developing evidence-based
solutions, and communicating these recommendations to advocates, lawmakers, and the public. Every day 88 Americans are killed
with guns, but research shows that common-sense public safety laws can reduce gun violence and save lives.
-4-