News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A Sisters Post Office employee was shot to death by a Bend police officer on Saturday, July 5, after he allegedly attacked the officer with a pair of scissors at St. Charles Medical Center.
Kenneth Ross Coleson, 46, was at the hospital Saturday evening to be examined in a rape investigation. Bend Police had arrested him Saturday afternoon for kidnapping and raping his estranged wife.
Police reported that Coleson was handcuffed in front and guarded by an officer in an examination room at St. Charles when he suddenly lunged across a bed, grabbed a pair of scissors and ran at the officer with the scissors raised.
According to police, the officer retreated, repeatedly warning Coleson to drop the scissors. Coleson continued toward the officer, who kept retreating until backing into an obstacle.
Coleson was allegedly poised to stab the officer when the officer fired two shots, fatally wounding Coleson. He was immediately taken to a treatment room where he died of his wounds.
Coleson had worked at the Sisters Post Office as a part-time clerk for about two years, according to postmaster Patty Egan. The incident was a complete surprise to post office personnel.
"The guy never exhibited anything here that wasn't friendly and polite," Egan said. "And he got along well with all the other employees, too, so this came as quite a shock."
But Coleson had a troubled past. According to police, he was convicted of felony child molestation in Washington in 1988, and was registered as a sex offender in Washington and Oregon.
That history apparently was not enough to disqualify Coleson from working for the postal service.
Portland District Office customer relations coordinator Ron Alexander could not comment on the specifics of the case.
"People here in the personnel department are investigating it and trying to put the pieces together," Anderson told The Nugget.
However, Anderson said that postal service policy states that having a criminal record does not automatically disqualify an applicant.
For a criminal record to be disqualifying, the postal service must find that the applicant's criminal history would have a direct impact on his ability to do the job.
According to police, the incident that led to Coleson's death began at about 11:30 p.m. July 4, when Coleson's estranged wife returned to the Bend home they still shared and was confronted by Coleson, who was wielding a pistol.
Coleson allegedly forced her into the basement and raped and sodomized her at gunpoint. During the hour-long episode, police reported, Coleson fired two shots into the ceiling. Coleson then allegedly took the woman to a local motel where he held her against her will until about 3 a.m. when she was able to talk him into letting her go.
Egan told The Nugget that Coleson reported to work early Saturday morning, then left.
Bend Police located Coleson at his residence at about 2:40 p.m. Considering Coleson armed and violent, police lured him out of the house with a phone call made by his wife, who promised to meet him at another location. When Coleson came out of his house he was arrested without incident.
Police took Coleson to the Bend Police Department, where he was booked on a range of charges including forcible rape, being an ex-convict in possession of a firearm, unlawful use of a firearm and reckless endangering.
Police took him to St. Charles at about 6 p.m. to conduct a physical evidence examination. The shooting occurred at about 6:35 p.m.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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