Photos / Fatal Shooting: DA rules shooting of suspect justified | News

Columbia County District Attorney Jeff Auxier has ruled that the actions by Columbia County Sheriff Brian Pixley and Oregon State Police Sgt. Chad Drew were justified in a fatal shooting at Grumpy’s Towning in March.



Police at the scene of the shooting in March.






Tape Off

Law enforcement members during the shooting investigation in front of the the shooting location, taped off during the probe.



“My conclusion is that the action so Sheriff Pixley and Sergeant Drew on March 31 were justified, and that no further action on the part of my office is necessary,” Auxier states in his official findings letter.

Read the full document here.

Auxier sent the review documents to Pixley and to Oregon State Police Capt. Andy McCool.

Last April, following the shooting, Pixley placed a statement on his Facebook site, which read in part:

“It is a complex and difficult experience to process but I find some comfort in knowing that we were able to defend the lives of our citizens and both the sergeant and I were able to go home safely to our families.”

At that time, Pixley declined an interview with The Chronicle pending conclusion of the shooting investigation.



Highway closed

Highway 30 at Scappoose was shut down for several hours during the shooting investigation.



The shooting occurred on the morning of March 31, at the Scappoose towing company.

Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers and Columbia County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputies, including Sheriff Pixley, responded to the call of a disturbance call involving a suspect at Grumpy’s Towing at 53279 Columbia River Highway, according to Washington County Sheriff’s Office detective Shannon Wilde.

As officers arrived on scene, witnesses said officers ordered the armed suspect involved to put down his weapon, according to a KOIN report.

The suspect, later identified as 39-year-old Michael Stockton, fired multiple shots at two law enforcement officers, and the officers returned fire, hitting Stockton, according to investigators. No officers were injured during the gunfire.

Multiple law enforcement agencies, including St Helens and Scappoose Police also responded to the incident. Officers at the scene rendered aid to Stockton until medical personnel could take over. Stockton was later pronounced declined.

Following the shooting, investigators located two different handguns in Stockton’s possession confirming he fired multiple shots in the direction of the law enforcement officers, according to Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) Detective Shannon Wilde.

During the investigation, officers learned that Stockton was wanted by Gresham Police for the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old man at a storage facility in Gresham, according to Wilde. Investigators said the shooting in Scappoose is unrelated to the Gresham homicide case.

Stockton had served 60 months in prison in 2014 after his conviction of two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of being a felon in possession of a gun, according to The Oregonian.

Pixley and Drew were placed on critical incident leave, which is standard protocol following an officer-involved shooting.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office was the lead law enforcement agency in the shooting investigation.

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