Officers have used deadly force 6 times in Lane County since Sept. 1
EUGENE, Ore. -- Police or sheriff's deputies have used deadly force on suspects in Lane County six times since a new task force to investigate officer-involved shootings started reviewing the cases Sept. 1.
The man shot by a sheriff's deputy Sunday night is in critical condition today at Sacred Heart Hospital at RiverBend in Springfield, Ore.
The Lane County Sheriff's Office says Bix Brian Barker was hiding in the bushes near a car when he treatened deputies with a weapon. A deputy shot Barker as he pointed the gun at deputies, according to the sheriff's office.
Lieutenant Byron Trap says Lane County law enforcement are usually only involved in one officer involved shooting per year.
Just since Sept. 1, however, police in Springfield have shot at suspects twice, once in September and once in October.
Eugene police used deadly force in November.
And the sheriff's office has had three deputy involved shootings -- once in Cottage Grove, once in Eugene and the third on Sunday.
"I don't know if there is any kind of factors among them that would give any indication of a trend that is common," Trapp said. "I don't know."
Of the six, only one resulted in a fatality.
The Lane County Deadly Physical Force Plan governs how incidents of deadly force are reviewed.
A teamof 10 experienced investigators from the various Lane County law enforcement agencies investigates the use of deadly force by an officer.
The team was created in response to a law passed by the 2007 Legislature. The team was scheduled to be implemented for all Lane County incidents of the use of deadly physical force by an officer on Sept. 1, 2008.
