Grand jury clears officers in fatal shooting

Roy S. Bass was shot and killed near the Bear Creek Trailhead at Boundary Campground. - Photo/KATY NESBITT

The officers shot and killed Bass at Boundary Campground, seven miles south of Wallowa, following an altercation between Bass and some Forest Service employees.

Earlier this week, Wallowa County District Attorney Mona Williams released a full report of the incident.

The report said that at about 2:15 p.m. Oct. 7 three USFS firefighters who had been working the Big Sheep Ridge Fire in the area were discussing the removal of a tree in Boundary Campground when one of them noticed a man standing near the entrance to the campground, approximately 20 yards away, pointing a handgun at his back. The USFS employee heard a metallic click like the dry fire of a gun, the report said.

When Bass noticed that the employee had seen him, Bass raised the pistol by cocking his elbow. When the employee realized what he had seen and heard, he turned back to the man to see him

again pointing the gun at his back. This time Bass moved the gun to the right about 45 degrees, the DA’s report said.

The other two employees noticed their co-worker turn his head and saw Bass with the handgun, the report said. They started moving away from the campsite while keeping Bass in their sight. Bass put the gun down to his side and began reciting what sounded like Bible verses. One heard a reference to the “hand of God,” the report said.

One fire-fighter stayed at the trailhead around a corner and out of sight of the campsite to make sure no one came down from the mountain, the report said. Since it was the fifth day of deer rifle season and the Sheep Ridge fire was still being monitored, firefighters and hunters were known to be in the area. As the Forest Service employees started down the road to call law enforcement they saw Bass wave and smile.

The USFS employees contacted Wallowa County Dispatch and requested assistance from law enforcement. The employees did not want to describe the incident over the radio for safety reasons and drove to an area with cellular phone service to further describe the incident. By phone they requested at least two officers, the report said.

Undersheriff Rogers took the initial call. The report said the undersheriff was returning from the Troy area where he was assisting law enforcement from Lewiston in a search for a child believed to be kidnapped by his father.

The DA said the undersheriff had told him he thought the two incidences might be related, so he requested the assistance of Detective Rogers and Deputy Dan Courtney.

Senior Trooper Mark Knapp of the Oregon State Police was also aware of the reported kidnapping and radioed to see if the Sheriff’s Department needed assistance, the report said.

It was quickly determined that the suspect was not the kidnapper. Knapp said he recognized the description of the suspect and his vehicle from a contact at the same campground in July and reported the previous antagonistic encounter with Bass to Undersheriff Rogers. USFS law enforcement officer Jody Williamson also responded to the scene, the report said.

After making contact with USFS employees, law enforcement officers determined that they had probable cause to arrest Bass on a charge of menacing, the report said. However, they also determined that they needed more information regarding the suspect before attempting the arrest.

Williamson and Courtney put coats over their uniforms to disguise themselves as officers, the DA’s report said. They used a USFS vehicle to drive by the campsite to determine if there was a safe opportunity to make an arrest.

The plan called for Williams and Courtney to come into the campsite from the trailhead as the two Rogers and Knapp came in from the road.

When Williamson and Courtney drove by the campsite the suspect was well off the road and there wasn’t an opportunity to make the arrest, the report said.

Williamson and Courtney drove to the trailhead and walked through the woods toward the campsite. The other officers were parked on the road just out of sight of the camp.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the campsite, Knapp could see that the suspect was alone and did not drive past, the report said. When the sheriff’s officers approached the campsite, the suspect smiled, walked toward them and waved them into the campsite.

Knapp said he saw that the sheriff’s officers were not continuing up the road and turned his pickup around in support.

Both of the Rogers immediately noted that Bass had his left hand deep in his pocket and that there was a holster with a handgun on his right hip as he walked toward them, the DA’s report said.

When Steve Rogers stopped the vehicle, Neil Rogers opened the passenger door, exited and ordered Bass to take his left hand out of his pocket. Bass did not comply. Neil Rogers gave the suspect a second order to remove his hand from his pocket, drew his handgun and pointed it at Bass who was 20 feet away, according to the DA’s report.

Bass pulled his left hand from his pocket and with his right hand drew his gun and pointed it at Neil Rogers. Neil Rogers backed up, shouted “Don’t!” and fired one shot, striking Bass in the left shoulder, the report said.

At the same time Steve Rogers exited the driver side of the vehicle and drew his firearm, the report said. He started to walk around the front of the vehicle, which would have put him in a crossfire position. He stopped and stepped back as Bass drew his gun.

The DA’s report said that when Bass aimed his gun at Neil Rogers, Steve Rogers yelled, “No!” and fired two shots, one almost simultaneously with Neil Roger’s shot. The first hit Bass in the left side; the second hit him in the spine as Bass turned from the force of Neil Rogers’ shot to the shoulder. Bass fell to the ground next to the passenger door of the undersheriff’s vehicle.

As the sheriff’s officers were approaching Bass, Knapp turned his pickup around and came to a stop at the entrance to the campsite just as the shots were fired, although he did not see the incident, the report said. Williamson and Courtney ran through the woods from the south when they saw Knapp turn his pickup around, the report said.

Williamson and Knapp attempted CPR, and Neil Rogers called for an ambulance.

The officers told the DA that the entire incident, from the time the undersheriff entered the camp to the time Bass was shot, took about 10 seconds.

Detectives from the Baker City and La Grande OSP offices arrived at the scene within a few hours of the incident and began the process of obtaining a search warrant for Bass’ campsite and closed containers. The warrant was issued by Judge Phillip Mendiguren on Oct. 8 and executed the same day.

According to the report, investigators discovered Bass’ handgun lying next to the undersheriff’s vehicle with a loaded magazine and the safety off. They also discovered a second loaded handgun in a backpack sitting on the picnic table and two hunting rifles in cases in Bass’ vehicle.

Sheriff Fred Steen arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting. On the way to Boundary Campground he was notified that the suspect was down.

When Steen arrived at the scene he discovered which officers were involved and they were immediately taken out of the area, which Steen said is normal procedure.

“Part of the investigation was to make sure the officers were OK,” Steen said. “We put them in a place out of the way as the scene was secured.”

Undersheriff Rogers is on administrative leave and will probably return to work this week, Steen said. Detective Rogers is on a pre-arranged vacation. Both officers have nearly 20 years of experience in law enforcement.

The OSP and the Union County Major Crimes Team conducted the investigation with assistance from criminologists with the OSP Crime Labs in Pendleton and Ontario.

Bass had been camping in the campground for a couple of days, possibly to hunt, Steen said.