WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. — On Sunday at around 10:20 a.m., Hillsboro Police showed up to a condo on Northeast Miriam Way, following up on a report that a man was inside with a woman who had a court-ordered restraining order against him.
After confirming the man had, in fact, violated that order, investigators reported that he told them he was armed, and took the woman hostage. According to a release from Beaverton Police, the two officers fired their guns, shooting and killing the man.
Both Hillsboro officers are on paid administrative leave.
"I was just heartbroken. It is yet another example of a domestic violence fatality in our community that has seen far too many this year," said Rachel Schutz, the executive director of the Family Justice Center of Washington County.
"I was angry," said Rowie Taylor, the executive director of the Domestic Violence Resource Center in Washington County, "I was angry for the life lost, obviously, angry for the police officers who were involved who have to live with that for the rest of their lives. Glad that they were there to protect their survivor, and so upset and angry and hurt for the survivor."
Leaders at the FJC told KGW the impact of a shooting like this one ripples through the community, and restraining orders can only go so far to protect survivors.
"The challenge with restraining orders is twofold," Schutz explained, "One, it is predicated on a person who has the order against them listening to that order. The second is having the ability to call or text 911 in the situation when they have violated that restraining order. There's actually a third issue, which is we know that when a survivor attempts to leave or get help (escaping) from an abuser, that is the most deadly time for them."
Schutz said survivors, with the assistance of organizations like theirs, are doing everything they can to stay safe. That's why her team finds this situation especially heartbreaking.
"The survivors are working so hard. They’re doing everything right. They’re doing everything that they’re being told to do," she said, "Then this is the result."
In 2023, the FJC in Washington County alone served nearly 5,000 survivors. Schutz said that's the most the group has ever seen in its history — with more people requesting emergency shelter, more people requesting to speak with law enforcement, and more high risk or high fatality cases. All in all, they're record-breaking numbers.
"We have assisted in applying for a lot of restraining orders — over 700," she said, "And that's not the complete picture because there are restraining order that get applied for at the courthouse."
"I look at that in two ways," added Taylor. "It's very busy, and that means more survivors are seeking help, and that is good. I would like to see our numbers increase tremendously because they were seeking help and then I would like to see them go away, and we could work ourselves out of business because of societal changes. Unfortunately, I don’t think that I’m ever going to live to see that happen."
Leaders with FJC hope for changes to law statewide to make situations safer for survivors. Schutz is also pushing for additional funding to community-based organizations to help pay for housing or safety supplies like phones, new locks, address confidentiality and cameras.
"You do not have to apply for a restraining order if you don’t want to, and you don’t have to talk to law-enforcement if you don’t want to. You don’t have to get counseling if you don’t want to. You get to choose the plan that is right for you," she said. "But the most important thing is that you know that there will be support when it is safe for you to get that support."