THE DALLES, Ore. — The man who was fatally shot by law enforcement officers after ramming a police car and directing their truck at officers and deputies in The Dalles has been identified.
On Saturday, The Dalles Police and the Wasco County Sheriff's Office identified the man as 68-year-old Jimmy L. Ewing, also known as August J. Law.
On June 18, at 1:41 a.m., Wasco County Sheriff's Office deputies noticed a large tow truck dragging a cable in the Home Depot parking lot on West 6th Street in The Dalles. Deputies said the driver was acting suspiciously and attempted to stop the driver, who took off and led deputies and police officers on a short chase that ended at the Astro gas station on West 6th Street.
The driver tried to ram law enforcement vehicles, police said. After a police car was rammed and pushed up onto an embankment, officers and deputies fired at the driver, who ignored commands from law enforcement and continued to direct the truck at officers, according to police.
The driver was hit by gunfire, given medical aid at the scene by first responders and taken to a hospital, where they died.
"The officers on scene feared for their safety and the safety of their colleagues on scene and made the decision to fire ... It appeared to the officers and deputies that the suspect was not using the vehicle to get away but to ram and cause damage to their patrol cars and them, and that’s part of the reason they chose to fire," The Dalles police chief Tom Worthy told KGW on Tuesday.
The Dalles Police also identified an officer who fired their weapon at Ewing as Jeremy Dutton, and the Wasco County Sherrif's Office identified two of its deputies who also fired, Tyler Williams and Joshua Augustus.
The investigation is ongoing, both agencies said, and "will be delivered to the Wasco County District Attorney's Office for consideration.
