A Marion County grand jury on Friday unanimously found an Oregon State Police trooper justified in shooting and killing a 22-year-old Salem man in late February near the Gov. Ted Kulongoski Army Aviation Training Center on Turner Road.
The decision came about three weeks after police responded to a report around 10 a.m. on Feb. 27 that Matthew Walter Wong had given a threatening note to a guard at the National Guard Air Station.
Salem Police, which is the agency in charge of conducting the deadly use of force investigation per the Marion County Law Enforcement Officer Deadly Use of Force Plan, said Senior Trooper Justin Oxenrider responded to the incident.
Matthew Walter Wong, 22, was fatally shot by Oregon State Police on Feb. 27.
Police said a computer dispatch report told Oxenrider that Wong gave a note to the guard that said, “I will give you 10 minutes to decide, something about laying down arms.”
The dispatch report said it was the second time Wong had appeared in the area in the last three days, according to police.
Officials with the Marion County District Attorney’s Office released an account of the incident Friday.
Oxenrider learned on the way to the scene that Wong had an active arrest warrant for an unlawful use of a weapon and that Wong had pulled a knife the last time police engaged with him, the release said.
When he arrived on the scene Oxenrider identified Wong, turned on his body camera and approached him, saying, “Hey Partner! How you doin’?’” the release said.
Wong began to walk away with his hands in his pockets. He refused Oxenrider’s requests that he take his hands out of his pockets, saying he would leave instead, according to the release.
Salem Police investigated a fatal shooting involving an Oregon State Police trooper.
Oxenrider told Wong he couldn’t leave and again asked him to take his hands out of his pockets. When he refused, Oxenrider pulled his taser, the release said.
Wong then pulled a knife out of one of his pockets and Oxenrider deployed his taser but missed Wong, according to the release. Oxenrider alleged Wong “charged” him with the knife.
The release said Oxenrider and Wong engaged in a physical struggle and Oxenrider again failed to effectively deploy the taser. Wong began to walk away, but Oxenrider said he felt Wong was a danger and he would not let him leave, according to the release.
After commanding Wong to drop the knife, Oxenrider pulled his gun, saw Wong turn back in an “aggressive manner” and fired two shots, the release said. Oxenrider said his behavior mirrored when he had charged earlier.
The shooting happened in a grassy area as traffic drove by, body camera footage from Oxenrider released by the district attorney’s office showed.
The knife Matthew Walter Wong was holding when he was shot and killed by Oregon State Police in Salem on Feb. 27.
Wong died at the scene, and an autopsy found he had been struck by both bullets, the release said.
The release said no bystanders or police were injured during the incident.
Wong had two previous arrests and no convictions, the release said.
The grand jury determined Oxenrider had exhausted all alternatives and no other options would have been feasible.
Oxenrider has been with OSP for 18 years, according to the news release. Police said Oxenrider is a K9 Trooper, and his K9 was in his vehicle at the time of the incident.
According to a report from The Oregonian, Oxenrider was involved in a fatal shooting of a St. Helens man after a high-speed chase near Scappoose in 2013. He was found to be justified in that shooting.
“I would like to thank the Grand Jury for their careful and thorough review of this dangerous situation. It is tragic that Mr. Wong was experiencing mental health struggles, and this case highlights the dangerous outcomes for our neighbors, our law enforcement officers and our community when such issues go unaddressed,” Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson said in the news release. “Senior Trooper Oxenrider was faced with an untenable situation not of his own creation. I know that no one wanted this outcome on that day.”
Isabel Funk covers breaking news and public safety for the Statesman Journal. Funk can be reached at [email protected] or on X at @isabeldfunk
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon trooper found justified in fatal shooting of Salem man, 22
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