Police blocked off the West Salem Goodwill parking lot after an shot and killed a man inside on Sept. 18 2019. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter)
A Polk County grand jury determined that Dallas police officer Darren Buchholz acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Scott Gabriel Spangler in the West Salem Goodwill last month.
Buchholz is part of a police narcotics team that had set up a drug buy from Spangler on the afternoon of Sept. 18, Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton said following the shooting.
Court records show Spangler had a long history of drug use and related arrests, including a prior arrest by Buchholz for illegally having a firearm in 2015.
READ: History of drugs plagued man killed last week in Goodwill in Salem
Few details have been released publicly about what occurred, other than that officers were attempting to arrest Spangler before Buchholz shot and killed him. Officers have declined to say whether Spangler was armed at the time of the shooting.
The grand jury determined Thursday that no criminal prosecution was necessary.
“In making their decision, the Grand Jury heard from detectives and officers from the Salem Police Department, deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the involved officers from (the Polk County Interagency Narcotics Team), and six citizen witnesses,” Polk County District Attorney Aaron Felton said in a news release.
Buchholz or his attorneys may request the court not release records of the grand jury proceedings within 10 days. If there’s no request, the proceedings may be transcribed and released publicly.
Have a tip? Contact reporter Saphara Harrell at 503-549-6250, [email protected] or @daisysaphara.
