The Salem police officer who shot and injured a man while responding to a hostage call at a homeless camp last week was justified in doing so, a grand jury found.

On Thursday, June 18, a Marion County grand jury unanimously concluded that Sgt. Jason Donner was justified in using deadly force against Jose L. Anguiano, 35, on June 11, according to a statement by the Marion County District Attorney’s Office.

Anguiano, who has a listed Keizer address, is facing criminal charges for domestic violence after holding a woman hostage at gunpoint, a statement by the office said. 

The same jury that found Donner justified also indicted Anguiano for coercion, two counts of fourth-degree assault and four counts of menacing. The coercion and assault charges constituted domestic violence, the district attorney’s office said.

The office published the first details about what led to the shooting after initial statements with little information.

While reviewing the shooting, the jury heard from witnesses, Salem police officers and detectives with the Oregon State Police and Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the statement said. The jury also considered footage from officers’ body-worn cameras, 911 calls, photographs and evidence from the scene.

At 7:30 a.m. last Thursday, Donner and officers Chad Galusha and Andrew Hockman, along with state trooper Adrian Steeley, responded to the area of 3371 Portland Rd. N.E., after a hangup call to 911, the statement said.

When dispatch returned the hangup call, it sounded like a woman was crying. 

While officers were on their way to the scene, a second caller reported a woman was being held hostage at gunpoint in a tent near the location, according to the statement.

As officers walked along the railroad tracks near Northeast Portland Road, they heard what they thought sounded like a woman saying “Help,” the statement said. There are often tents and homeless camps in the area around the railroad tracks, which officers were familiar with.

After hearing a “whimpering” woman’s voice and an angry man’s voice in a fenced area, Donner and Galusha went into the area and drew their guns, the statement said. 

The two men approached a tent in the area where a man, later identified as Anguiano, appeared from behind a bush holding what looked like a handgun, according to the statement.

Donner saw Anguiano point the weapon at him and the sergeant shot three times, the district attorney’s office said. 

“The grand jury further found that Sergeant Donner had no reasonable opportunity to use any alternative force options or de-escalation techniques given how quickly the incident unfolded,” the statement said. 

The woman who had been held hostage was able to get out of the area safely.

Medics treated Anguiano on scene for non-life-threatening injuries before he was taken to Salem Hospital. He was eventually released and put into custody at the Marion County Jail on June 14, the jail roster shows.

An air pistol was recovered on scene, which is not classified as a firearm under Oregon law, according to the district attorney’s office.

“We are well-served by law enforcement in this community. I am grateful that the officers who willingly put themselves in danger to protect others on this day returned home safely,” Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson said in the statement. “My gratitude to them and to the grand jury who thoroughly and thoughtfully reviewed this matter.”

Anguiano is scheduled to appear in court at the Marion County Circuit Court Annex on June 29 for the new criminal charges.

Before this case, Anguiano had been arrested 34 times before, and has been previously convicted for first-degree burglary, unlawful use of a weapon and second-degree escape, the statement said. His criminal history in Marion County dates back to at least 2010, court records show.

The last shooting involving a Salem police officer was in January 2025, when an officer shot and killed a man at an apartment complex.

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Man shot by Salem Police officer Thursday morning in stable condition

UPDATE: Few details on “officer-involved shooting” on Northeast Portland Road

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

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