Suspect shot after chase
Salem
Police shot a man after he crashed a truck into a downtown courthouse early Saturday, ending a pursuit that began when the suspect set fire to several squad cars and shot at an officer who chased him.
Christopher Lee Millis, 37, was inside the Marion County Courthouse for several hours and had set at least one fire in the building before police tracked him down in a stairwell, authorities said. A bomb squad and robot were brought in to search the building for explosives after he was subdued.
None was found, but as a precaution, officers went room-to-room, combing the five-story building for explosives, police spokesman Lt. Bill Kohlmeyer said.
Millis, a resident of the adjacent town of Keizer, was taken to an area hospital, police Capt. Jeff Kuhns said. Officials said he had been taken into surgery.
Local police officer honored
A Spokane Police officer who started a program to enforce commercial vehicle laws was honored this week by Police Chief Roger Bragdon.
Traffic Officer Brad Moon took the initiative to start the program, applied for a grant and took classes from the Washington State Patrol to get it off the ground, said police spokesman Dick Cottam in a press release.
Grant money paid for two Chevy Tahoes and portable scales to allow the department to monitor trucking in the city for the first time, Cottam said. Previously, only trucks using state or federal highways were checked for safety conditions, and that was done by WSP.
Moon, who has been on the force since 1996, was named the department’s employee of the quarter.
Police seek assault suspect
A reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of a man wanted for an assault.
Eric Lauren Sumner, 29, is accused of committing a torture-like attack on a woman and faces a charge of second-degree assault, said Spokane Police spokesman Dick Cottam in a press release.
The charge filed against Sumner noted that he allegedly inflicted “pain and agony” on the victim in such a manner “as to be like torture.”
Sumner is 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds with blond hair and green eyes.
Anyone with information on Sumner’s whereabouts can contact Secret Witness at 327-5111. Callers do not have to give their name to be eligible for the cash.