A Clackamas County grand jury found the actions of deputies who shot and wounded two people in Wilsonville last month were “justified and lawful,” the district attorney announced Wednesday.
Three Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office deputies fired at a man and a woman who were allegedly fleeing in a stolen car on Feb. 14. Investigators allege that one of the suspects was armed and opened fire, but have not said who fired a weapon or whether a firearm was found at the scene.
No deputies were struck by gunfire, but a patrol car was hit, the sheriff’s office said.
The deputies – Sam Eason, Chris O’Connor and Scott McBride – were placed on administrative leave after the shooting, which is standard protocol. Officials did not say Wednesday whether the deputies, who have each worked at the agency for over 15 years, have returned to work.
McBride was one of three deputies who fatally shot 34-year-old Bruce Steward on Feb. 15, 2015. The state medical examiner called Steward’s death a “suicide by cop.”
Officials identified the two suspects as Brandon Gilpin, 29, of Tallahassee, Florida and Felisha Marie Cunningham, 34, of Unionville, Tennessee.
Gilpin is still in the hospital and will be arraigned after his release. He is facing seven charges, including attempted murder, reckless driving and felon in possession of a firearm.
Cunningham was released from the hospital and indicted Wednesday on six charges, including two counts of attempted murder and felon in possession of a firearm. She is being held without bail, court records show.
The Clackamas County District Attorney’s office said Wednesday it could not provide additional details about the deputies’ use of force until the criminal cases against Gilpin and Cunningham are over.
Officials have not provided many details about what led to the bloody Valentine’s Day shooting, including when and where deputies first spotted Gilpin and Cunninghuam allegedly driving a stolen 2006 Lincoln Town Car.
Deputies said Gilpin and Gunningham fled in the car on Southwest Wilsonville Road. At Wilsonville Road and Town Center Loop East, patrol cars rammed into either end of the Lincoln Town Car, according to witnesses at the scene.
About 12:30 p.m., either Gilpin or Cunningham allegedly fired a weapon. The three deputies fired back and struck Gilpin and Cunningham, both of whom were taken to a nearby hospital.
Police have not said who was driving the car, but witnesses said a woman was pulled from the passenger seat.
A video posted on Twitter shows officers with their guns drawn surrounding a car and then the sound of shots being fired.
Two employees at Paradox vape shop in a shopping center near where the shooting occurred said they heard about a dozen consecutive gunshots and ducked for cover. Afterward, they checked surveillance-camera footage, which they provided to officers investigating the shooting.
The shop’s footage showed police chasing the sedan through the intersection and ramming it from the front and back, the employees said. They said they didn’t hear any return fire but saw a man with what looked like a bullet wound to his neck and blood covering his face, and heard him “yelling in agony” and calling out for his mother.
When paramedics arrived about five to 10 minutes later and placed the man on a stretcher, he wasn’t making any noise. A woman in the passenger seat had blood running down her leg, they said, the vape shop employees said.
— Catalina Gaitán, cgaitan@oregonian.com, @catalingaitan_
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