Ore. town may disband police force after shooting

"The police force here believes it is above the law and it needs to go."
Houston Chronicle
Aug. 30, 2011

ELGIN, Ore. (AP) — Richard "Dickie" Shafer was one of the first people to pop into City Hall, introduce himself to the new city administrator and offer to help out as needed. He was known for letting customers at his excavation business slide awhile if they couldn't pay the bill.

"The mildest guy in the world," friend Bruce Lauricella recalled.

Then tragedy struck this rural town that sits at a crossroads in wheat and cattle country. A police officer, responding to a 911 domestic disturbance call by Shafer's wife, shot and killed Shafer. Few people know exactly what happened early the morning of Aug. 1. Outside law enforcement agencies are investigating, and the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave.

But the incident has so angered residents that many are demanding the small police department be disbanded, even as other communities across the country struggle to maintain police forces amid budget cuts.

"It was murder," said John Thibodeau, 78, who retired to Elgin from Reno, Nev. 27 years ago. "I absolutely think they need to go."

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