The Jefferson County District Attorney said Tuesday an officer was justified in firing his gun at a car during an arrest in Madras on Jan. 6.
DA Steven Leriche conducted the investigation and issued the ruling in a lengthy statement detailing the events from that night.
At 10:30 a.m., an acquaintance of 30-year-old Jordan Abbe of Madras called police and requested Abbe receive a welfare check.
Law enforcement decided not to contact Abbe to not further agitate him, as they knew him from previous contacts, Leriche said.
The decision to defer contact is a legal exercise of police discretion, according to Leriche.
Later that morning around 11:50 a.m., Abbe drove a doughnut around two police cars parking in the parking lot of a local business. The officers drove out of Abbe’s path and put on their sirens to try to get him to pull over.
Abbe led both officers on a short pursuit from Madras into a neighborhood near St. Charles.
At one point, Abbe’s car struck Officer Ryan Kathrein’s vehicle, Leriche said. After hitting his car, he focused his car o Sgt. Mel Brown’s vehicle and revved his engine. Brown fired at Abbe’s vehicle 12 times, striking Abbe’s windshield.
Abbe was taken to St. Charles in Madras and released shortly after. He was then arrested for unlawful use of a weapon, attempting to elude a police officer, reckless driving, menacing and recklessly endangering another person.
The full account of the day’s events are available here:
MPD OIS corrected
