Category Public Safety
UPDATE: Fire near North Salem HS leaves 6 people displaced
A house fire on Northeast Garnet Street was quickly brought under control Wednesday morning. No injuries were reported, Salem Fire officials said.
Teen gets probation for shooting death of Salem cat
A teenager accused of fatally shooting a cat with a pellet gun in a southeast Salem neighborhood in May admitted to first-degree aggravated animal abuse in Marion County Juvenile Court. The boy, 17, could be on probation for up to five years.
Drug possession arrests have increased since new misdemeanor charge took effect
Oregon lawmakers are waiting to see the initial results of House Bill 4002, which recriminalized low-level drug possession and allocated money for county deflection programs.
Family honors firefighter’s life cut short by intoxicated driver
Mario Lara, a veteran firefighter, was planning to retire after 37 years with the state Department of Forestry. He had just beaten cancer and gotten engaged when he died in a crash with an intoxicated driver in north Salem.
Salem man sentenced to prison for Highland school attack
Charly Velasquez-Sanchez pleaded guilty to assaulting three employees at Highland Elementary School while young students watched. His sentence concluded a criminal case that exemplified the mounting challenges in Oregon’s mental health system.
California woman dies in Sept. 14 crash involving Salem teens
State police said a Salem teen crashed a truck into an SUV north of Sublimity last week. A passenger, Phyllis Russo, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the SUV and died at the scene.
Two deputy directors at Oregon police certification agency are fired; third employee resigns
Officials decline to discuss the firings at the police certification agency. The agency recently largely cleared a training backlog that was hurting police offices statewide.
Police identify victims of fatal crash Monday on Cordon Road
Salem police said on Wednesday that Blanca Franco-Ramos, 28, of Mt. Angel, and Heriberto Rangel-Rangel, 46, of Silverton, died in a head-on collision two days earlier on Southeast Cordon Road. The agency has provided few details about the crash.
Protester wins appeal, regains $1 million payout for Salem officer’s excessive force
A federal judge last year dismissed a lawsuit against the city of Salem despite a jury finding a police officer liable for shooting and injuring a protester with rubber bullets. On Monday, three judges in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the protestor.