Oregon State Police Superintendent Casey Codding and a state police sergeant were “legally justified” in firing at a murder suspect fleeing in a car with a young child during a high-speed chase on Interstate 5 in late April, Linn County’s district attorney has found.
District Attorney Doug Marteeny said Codding and Sgt. Nickodemus “Orly” Johnson fired “multiple gunshots” after the suspect, Elias Huizar, pointed a handgun out of his open driver’s side window toward the front of Johnson’s marked police car and fired toward the sergeant.
Codding and Johnson fired back in self-defense and to defend others, Marteeny wrote. The gunfire occurred after Codding and Johnson attempted to “pin and stop” Huizar’s 2009 Toyota Corolla that they had been chasing south on the freeway.
Marteeny did not say in his two-page letter whether Johnson or Codding were in their vehicles or outside them when they shot at Huizar, how many shots they fired or whether the April 23 shooting occurred in the median, the shoulder or in a traffic lane on the freeway.
But Marteeny called the evidence “overwhelming” and thanked the troopers “for a job well done” and for their “professionalism and bravery.”
“Mr. Huizar drove in a manner that endangered innocent motorists as well as his passenger,” the district attorney wrote. “He fired a handgun at close range in the direction of Sgt. Johnson. He presented an imminent and immediate threat to life.”
The Oregonian/OregonLive obtained the memo Monday through a public records request.
Huizar, a former Yakima police officer, was wanted in the killing of two women — his ex-wife and the 17-year-old mother of his 1-year-old son — in West Richland, Washington. Police had issued an Amber Alert when Huizar left with the boy. Huizar later killed himself further south along I-5 as troopers closed in.
In Linn County, after the state police sergeant and Codding attempted to pin in Huizar’s car, Huizar “pointed his gun towards the front of Sgt. Johnson’s car and fired at Sgt. Johnson,” Marteeny wrote in a brief outline of the shooting. “The muzzle of the gun flashed and a pop or bang sound was heard.”
Johnson and Codding immediately drew their handguns and fired several rounds at Huizar, the district attorney wrote.
Marteeny concluded that “deliberate efforts were made by both Sgt. Johnson and Supt. Codding to ensure that firing angles, timing, proximity, and backstop of their deadly force was done in a manner that would work to ensure the safety of a possible child passenger in the car, as well as the public traveling on I-5.”
The letter didn’t describe what efforts the two took. Huizar’s son was in the back of the Corolla, which had tinted windows.
The district attorney described the exchange of gunfire as happening in “sudden, rapid succession,” during an “extremely dynamic event.”
“A long review of the facts will not serve any purpose, but a brief outline seems appropriate,” Marteeny wrote.
At least one bullet hit Huizar’s car but Codding and Johnson missed Huizar, Marteeny noted. Huizar continued to speed south at speeds up to 100 mph.
Huizar drove toward a traffic jam near Eugene and when he tried to get around the slowed cars by driving onto the freeway’s dirt shoulder, he crashed into the back of a stopped semi-trailer truck, according to Marteeny. His Corolla careened into the median and came to a stop.
The truck’s driver told police he saw Huizar point a gun at his own head and fire, killing himself, as troopers converged around the Corolla and were stepping out of their cars at the end of the approximately 25-mile chase, according to the letter.
Other troopers arriving on the scene rescued the 1-year-old boy, who was strapped in a car seat in the back seat and unharmed, according to state police.
The chase had begun about 2:30 p.m. that afternoon when Johnson and another trooper, Scott Show, were on the side of I-5 in their respective marked police cars and spotted Huizar’s silver car going south.
The two caught up to the Corolla, confirmed its plates and tried to pull it over. Instead, Huizar accelerated, Marteeny wrote.
“Supt. Codding, who was nearby, joined the pursuit,” he wrote.
The Oregonian/OregonLive earlier reported that Codding was “out looking for” Huizar’s car and had directed everyone in the agency to “drop what they’re doing” to help in the search.
He was driving south on the interstate in an unmarked SUV when heard on his police radio that the chase was on for the Amber Alert suspect, state police Capt. Kyle Kennedy told the news organization.
According to the district attorney’s memo, Huizar’s car “slowed enough” to where Show first used his car to “redirect Huizar’s car” and Huizar’s car spun around into the west shoulder of the freeway. But Huizar was able to steer his car back into the southbound lanes and sped up again to get away, the letter said.
This time, Johnson struck Huizar’s car, “spinning it towards the shoulder,” the district attorney wrote.
“As his vehicle came around, Sgt. Johnson and Supt. Codding attempted to pin and stop it,” the letter said.
When Huizar’s car “crossed in front” of Johnson’s car, Huizar was seen pointing a gun out of his open driver’s window, Marteeny wrote.
Kennedy previously said he didn’t know if state police rammed Huizar’s car or used a pursuit intervention technique known as a PIT maneuver to try to stop Huizar. That’s when an officer chasing a car will bump into a rear corner of the fleeing car to cause it to spin and stop.
Marteeny reviewed the shooting because it occurred in Linn County.
The final crash and suspect’s self-inflicted gunshot wound occurred in Lane County.
Codding was wearing a body camera and it was activated, but his police SUV has no dash camera, Kennedy said.
Codding was on paid administrative leave for one week before he returned to his job. Johnson returned to work on May 7.
Public records requests for the Linn and Lane county sheriffs’ investigations into the state police shooting and chase are pending.
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