Man shot by police in The Dalles identified

THE DALLES, Oregon – The man who was shot and killed by police officers after ramming a police car and driving the car at officers and deputies in The Dalles has been identified.

On Saturday, The Dalles Police and the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as 68-year-old Jimmy L. Ewing, also known as August J. Law.

On June 18 at 1:41 a.m., Wasco County Sheriff’s Office officials noticed a large tow truck pulling a cable in the Home Depot parking lot on West 6th Street in The Dalles. Officials said the driver acted suspiciously and attempted to pull him over. The driver took off, leading officers and police on a short chase that ended at the Astro gas station on West 6th Street.

The driver attempted to ram police vehicles, police said. After a police car was rammed and pushed onto an embankment, officers and deputies fired shots at the driver, who ignored police orders and continued to drive the truck toward officers, police said.

The driver was hit by gunfire, received medical treatment on site by first responders and was taken to a hospital where he died.

“The officers on the scene feared for their safety and the safety of their colleagues on the scene and decided to shoot… It appeared to the officers and deputies that the suspect was not using the vehicle to escape, but rather to ram and damage their patrol cars and themselves, and that was one of the reasons they decided to shoot,” The Dalles Police Chief Tom Worthy told KGW on Tuesday.

The Dalles Police also identified an officer who fired his weapon at Ewing as Jeremy Dutton, and the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office identified two of its deputies who also fired shots, Tyler Williams and Joshua Augustus.

The investigation is still ongoing, both authorities said, and will be “submitted to the Wasco County District Attorney’s Office for review.”