OREGON CITY, Ore. – An Oregon City police officer shot and killed a suspect who was "violently resisting arrest" Saturday afternoon, police said.
The suspect was identified as 38-year-old Travis Anthony Moore.
Officers David Edwins and David Plummer were involved in the shooting, according to police. It's unclear if both officers fired their weapons.
The shooting occurred near Highway 99E and 2nd Street just before 2 p.m. Saturday
The officers were serving an arrest warrant to Moore for failing to appear in court on a harassment charge. The charge stemmed from an altercation between Moore and his neighbor. Moore allegedly attacked his neighbor and made derogatory references about his neighbor's sexual orientation.
Police said Moore immediately resisted arrest and the officers used a Taser, but that did not stop him.
Police did not say whether Moore had a weapon.
One of the officers shot Moore during the altercation.
According to police, there are other factors surrounding the officers' use of deadly force, but those details will not be released until the investigation is complete.
Officer Plummer suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital. He was later released.
Both officers were placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard police procedure.
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Team is investigating what led up to the shooting.
Family looking for answers
Travis Moore’s family members said they’re trying to cope and want more details on what exactly happened to him.
“I cannot believe it. It’s unreal,” said Adam Moore, Travis’ brother.
He said Travis was struggling with schizophrenia.
“We just kept trying to help him and help him and I finally basically forced the situation where he would get some help from Clackamas County Mental Health,” said Adam Moore.
But about six months ago, Travis decided to stop taking his medication. That’s about the time Travis Moore’s neighbor said he noticed changes in Travis’ demeanor.
“He’d be unsocial, he’d be walking more at night. He was coughing more outside. He’d also had some behavior changes when he was aggressive towards me,” said Justin Jones, who lives next door.
Jones said on a couple occasions, Moore got physical with him, so he reported it to police. Oregon City Police said they were at Travis’ home on Saturday trying to serve an arrest warrant tied to that report.
“I want to believe they didn’t do anything wrong, but I just cannot believe that to be true right now,” said Adam Moore.
He said he wants to know that police used all available non-lethal options before pulling the trigger.
In the meantime, Travis Moore’s family said they want him to be remembered for who he really was before his illness took over.
“I’d like to remember him as a kind and gentle, soft spoken person. He never meant no harm to anybody. He didn’t mean to make himself or everybody else miserable. He was just caught up in a disease that took control of his mind,” said Adam Moore. “He just couldn’t, he couldn’t recover. He couldn’t get back to who he wanted to be."
Oregon City Police said both officers involved were trained on how to deal with people suffering from mental health issues. Right now they're on paid leave which is standard procedure.