OSP identifies Salem officers involved in shooting kidnapping suspect
Oregon State Police on Friday afternoon said two Salem police officers shot Daniel Lewis Garcia, 34, while responding to a report of an attempted kidnapping in West Salem.
Police responded after a woman reported she was being kidnapped at 585 Wallace Rd. N.W. at 4:30 a.m. Friday.
Police located the vehicle and pursued the driver, who turned into the Glen Creek Park Apartments about a half mile away from the location of the reported kidnapping. The driver stopped the car in the parking lot, state police said, and the woman got out of the car as officers approached.
Garcia then exited the car with a knife, police said.
Two Salem police officers shot Garcia. State police did not identify which officers fired shots, but said three Salem police officers were involved: Nathan Bush, Colten Ruyle and Faith Hovenden.
Bush has been a law enforcement officer for seven years, Ruyle for one and Hovenden for a year and a half. No officers were injured.
State police said the Salem officers provided medical aid immediately. Garcia was transported to Salem Health and is currently being treated.
Bush previously shot and killed Arcadio Castillo III, 23, during a domestic disturbance call in June 2021. Castillo was armed with a knife, and his mother called police to report he was intoxicated and assaultive. A Marion County grand jury found Bush was justified in shooting Castillo, with the district attorney’s office saying the man ran toward Bush with a knife.
Castillo’s mother later filed a federal lawsuit against Bush and the city of Salem claiming Bush used excessive force when responding and saying he shot Castillo almost immediately after entering the home.
That case is awaiting settlement, with further court proceedings scheduled for October.
Oregon State Police will investigate Friday’s shooting under the Polk County plan for law enforcement deadly use of force.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
