Four Salem officers fire at rampaging RV
Four Salem Police Officers have been involved in a line-of-duty shooting following a dangerous incident in which a motorhome struck two police patrol vehicles.
The incident began at about 12:54 pm on January 27 with a motorist reporting a very large motorhome being operated in a dangerous and erratic manner on Highway 22 near Lancaster Dr SE in Salem. The complainant reported the driver of the motorhome was driving at dangerous speeds and cutting off other traffic.
Responding officers located the motorhome on Kansas St NE. The motorhome struck the front of Corporal Andrew Connolly’s patrol vehicle with such force that the airbags on Cpl Connolly’s vehicle deployed, then it fled the scene. Corporal Mark Seyfried soon located the motorhome on D St NE, then the motorhome drove in reverse and struck Cpl Seyfried’s vehicle and again fled.
Officers were able to deploy spike strips, eventually flattening some of the motorhome’s tires, causing it to come to a stop on Hawthorne Ave NE south of Market St NE. The driver, identified as 61-yeard Roy Victor Devoursney of Salem, exited the vehicle and refused to comply with officers’ commands, resulting in the deployment of a taser and taking him into custody.
Sergeant James Welsh, Corporal Andrew Connolly, Corporal Mark Seyfried and Officer Pence Hodges all fired at the suspect during the incident. These officers will be placed on administrative leave as is standard procedure while the incident is being investigated. This leave is not disciplinary in nature, but is common in situations where officers become involved in extremely traumatic events in the line of duty.
The suspect was not shot during the incident, but was transported to Salem Health for other injuries sustained during the incident. Corporal Connolly and Corporal Seyfried were also injured when the motorhome struck their patrol vehicles. They were transported to Salem Health for treatment and released.
All roadways that were closed for the investigation have now been opened.
The Oregon State Police and the Marion County District Attorney’s Office will be coordinating and conducting this investigation. This is standard procedure for the Salem Police Department to request the Oregon State Police conduct an independent investigation of incidents of this nature.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to call the Oregon State Police Regional Communications Center at 503-375-3555.
Further media releases will be coordinated through the Marion County District Attorney’s Office or the Oregon State Police
