Officer, man hurt in shootout

ALBANY, Ore. – A man who witnesses say opened fire on an Oregon State Police trooper during a “high-risk traffic stop” Friday on Interstate 5 was in critical condition and the trooper was wounded in a shootout along the busy freeway, authorities said.

The state trooper, Russell Decker, 33, was wearing body armor but suffered a minor wound when he was shot through the foot, said Kim Sass, a spokeswoman at Samaritan Albany General Hospital.

Decker, whose protective vest stopped two other bullets, was treated and released, according to Lt. Gregg Hastings, state police spokesman.

A second officer, Senior Trooper Huff Meyer, 40, was not injured during the shootout, Hastings said.

The suspect in the shooting, who was not identified, was taken by air ambulance to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center in Portland, Sass said.

The suspect was reportedly hit in the leg, groin and abdomen, according to KATU-TV in Portland.

The man was alone in the vehicle but no other details were released.

The freeway was closed for about seven hours before it was reopened about 8 p.m., backing up traffic for miles.

The shooting occurred shortly before 1 p.m. near milepost 235, said Lt. Gregg Hastings, state police spokesman.

KATU television reported a witness saw the trooper was walking back to his patrol car with some documents when the suspect got out and started shooting.

The witness saw the trooper fall down hard on the freeway embankment, the TV station said.

Mario Rivera saw the entire incident from the cab of his semi-trailer truck as he approached during the gunfire.

“It was a little nerve-racking,” Rivera told KGW-TV in Portland. “It’s not every day you see somebody shooting at a police officer.”

Television footage showed the back window of the suspect’s car, a black Toyota Corolla with New Jersey license plates, had been shot out.