WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. – The Washington County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday determined five police officers were justified in shooting and killing a homicide suspect on Christmas night.
Officers shot and killed 30-year-old James Tylka, who investigators say shot and killed his estranged wife, Katelynn Tylka-Armand, and shot and critically injured an Oregon State Police trooper.
According to investigators, Tylka shot his wife a little after 10 p.m. after she dropped off their 11-month-old child at a home in King City where Tylka lived with his mother and stepfather. As Katelynn was preparing to drive away, Tylka shot her eight times.
Tylka then made a phone call and sent multiple text messages admitting that he killed Katelynn, the district attorney’s office said.
Murder suspect's ex-wife: 'It was so surreal, so out of character'
He then drove away and neighbors called police and reported a suspect vehicle description. Trooper Nic Cederberg located Tylka’s car and told dispatch that Tylka was shooting at him. About a minute later, Cederberg stopped responding to dispatch calls and officers found Cederberg lying on the ground next to his patrol car on Grimm Lane, a dead-end road south of Sherwood.
There was dense vegetation around the road and the five officers who arrived on scene, Stanley Smith, Christopher Smith and Joseph Twigg of Sherwood police, Eli Sanders of Tualatin police, and Anthony Christofaro of Hillsboro police, initially did not know where Tylka was.
The officers searched for Tylka and found him hiding in bushes less than 10 yards away from Cederberg’s patrol car. They reported hearing a “pop flash” and saw that Tylka was armed with a pistol and pointing it at them. Tylka took the pistol from Cederberg, the district attorney's office said.
After noticing Tylka was pointing the gun at them, officers fired a total of 40 shots at Tylka. An autopsy revealed that Tylka was shot 21 times, including one self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The autopsy also showed that Tylka’s blood alcohol level was 0.11 percent at the time of his death.
Watch: Body cam video of the shooting (Warning: Graphic)
After the shooting, Officer Twigg provided medical aid to Cederberg that doctors say helped save Cederberg’s life. Cederberg was in the hospital until early February, when he was finally released and allowed to go home.
Cederberg met with the five officers cleared on Wednesday. In a post on Cederberg's Gofundme page, Cederberg's wife said, "Nic said one of the most comforting things when he was laying there was hearing their voices come up with a plan, executing it without hesitation, and then tending to his wounds exactly as they had been trained. Not one second of hesitation from these guys, and their knowledge of first aid and wound packing is what ultimately saved his life."