DA rules shooting justified

Black Butte Ranch police officer Mitch Elliott was justified in firing his service pistol at a fugitive's oncoming vehicle during a pursuit on Saturday, September 27, according to a report released by Deschutes County District Attorney Mike Dugan's office.

No one was injured in the shooting.

The shooting came at the end of a high-speed chase, as Officer Elliott was approaching on foot a 1997 Nissan Altima driven by fugitive Matthew Forster, 24. The vehicle had gotten stuck in a brush patch.

The car caught traction and Forster allegedly accelerated his vehicle at Officer Elliott.

"Officer Elliott believed that the car was going to hit him," the report stated. "A reconstruction of the scene would reveal that on its initial path, the Nissan would have hit the officer.

"Officer Elliott then fired four rounds from his .40 caliber handgun. All four rounds hit the car. Almost miraculously, no one was injured. Mr. Forster veered the car to the left, narrowly missing the officer. As the Nissan drove past Officer Elliott, it came within two feet of hitting him. As it did so, the Nissan was accelerating hard."

The report stated that "it is the District Attorney's conclusion that the use of deadly force was justified in response to the threat posed by Mr. Forster's driving."

The incident began Friday night, September 26, when Bend Police officers responded to a report of a domestic dispute in the area of 3rd Street and Yew Lane in Bend.

The officers spotted a white 1997 Nissan Altima leaving the scene and gave chase. The suspect eluded the officers.

Later, at about 3 a.m., the sheriff's office requested that Black Butte Ranch (BBR) Police officers respond to the area of Sisters Middle School, where there was a report of a fight.

Arriving on scene, Elliott spotted the 1997 Nissan Altima leaving the area. When Elliott turned his patrol car around to follow the vehicle, the Altima accelerated and fled at high speed.

A chase ensued, running eastbound on Highway 20, then northbound on Cloverdale Road. The suspect turned east on Ivy Lane, going off-road and into a private driveway.

The suspect tried to turn around and his car got stuck in the brush.

"Officer Elliott, believing the Nissan to be stuck, got out of his patrol car and approached the Nissan with his gun drawn," the DA's report stated. "Officer Elliott was yelling at the occupants of the car to turn the car off and to get out. They did not comply.

"Mr. Forster instead hit the accelerator, breaking the Nissan loose, and began to drive toward the officer," the report continues. "Officer Elliott was standing between his patrol car [which was about 40 feet behind him] and the Nissan [which was about 18 feet ahead of him]."

As the suspect's vehicle approached, Elliott fired on it.

According to the DA's report, "Officer Elliott believed that when the Nissan Altima driven by Matthew Forster began to accelerate in his direction, the driver was trying to run him over."

The District Attorney determined that the physical evidence at the scene -- including tire tracks, shell casings and footprints -- confirmed that Elliott reasonably believed he was in danger, justifying the use of deadly force.

The report also noted that "Mr. Forster himself would later tell the police that he was driving in the direction of the officer (although he said he was not trying to hit the officer) and that he could understand why the officer would have been placed in fear by his driving at that time."

The suspect drove around the officer and back out onto Ivy Lane. The officer got back into his car and gave chase, as another BBR officer approached from the opposite direction.

As the suspect approached the oncoming BBR unit, he veered off the road and hit a juniper tree.

Officer Elliott and fellow BBR officer Mike Lane, assisted by a sheriff's deputy, apprehended the driver, Matthew Paul Forster, and his passenger, Nathan Wright Renthal, 21, without further incident.

BBR police Chief Gill Zaccaro noted that the car came within a couple of feet of Elliott and that the investigation concluded the officer had 8/10ths of a second to make a "shoot-don't shoot decision."

Zaccaro said he was happy with the outcome, including the lack of serious injuries to the suspect and his passenger.

"Nobody got hurt and that's a good thing," he said. "We don't want anybody to get hurt."

Zaccaro said that Elliott is "doing well and will return to work on his regularly scheduled shift next week."

According to the report, "The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, with the substantial assistance of the Oregon State Police, investigated the shooting to determine the facts surrounding the police officer's use of deadly physical force. The investigation was supervised by the Deschutes County District Attorney's Office."