OR - Police Chief Ralph Painter, 55, shot to death, Rainier, 5 Jan 2011

Missizzy

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Breaking News:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40930697/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

Officer shot to death during struggle in Oregon

Victim reportedly town's police chief; suspect wounded in ensuing shootout

"A police officer was shot to death Wednesday in a shopping complex just before noon, and the suspect was wounded and taken to a hospital, law enforcement authorities said.

The Columbia County Sheriff's office confirmed that an officer from the Rainier Police Department had been killed. One witness said the officer was the town's police chief.

The shooting occurred in a small shopping complex in Rainier after the report of a disturbance at a car audio shop. The officer responded, a struggle ensued at the store and he was shot to death....."

and

"....the officer was Police Chief Ralph Painter, 55...."

more at link


More information:

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...nier_after_reports_of_officer_being_shot.html


NOTE: The name of the dead officer is still unconfirmed.
 
Ranier is a small town north of Portland right on the Columbia River.

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...f_killed_in_confrontation_at_stereo_shop.html

Bullets, sadness tear through Rainier as police chief killed in confrontation at stereo shop


"....Rainier's well-liked police chief, Ralph Painter, 55, had just been shot at the stereo shop while responding to a call about a man acting suspiciously. He was pronounced dead a short time later at a Longview [WA] hospital...."

and

"...According to various witness reports, the incident began when the suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Daniel Armaugh Butts of Kalama, Wash., was looking at a Chevrolet that was parked inside the bay. Workers at the shop became suspicious and called police at 10:47 a.m...."

and

"...When the shooting ended, Butts had been wounded and was flown to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland by LifeFlight helicopter. Columbia County Sheriff Jeff Dickerson said he is expected to survive...."

more at link



more at link
 
Prayers offered up for Chief Painter's family, friends and community.
 
Horrible, sad news. Seems like we have had quite a few law enforcement deaths recently.
 
Ranier is a very small and close-knit community. This will hit them so hard. By all accounts Chief Painter was very well liked and respected. And he left behind such a large family. My prayers are with all of them. My husband said that the flag was at half-mast in front of the Ashland Police Dept.


http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...ng_of_rainier_police_chief_ralph_painter.html

21-year-old charged with aggravated murder in fatal shooting of Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter


"A 21-year-old Kalama, Wash., man faces aggravated murder charges today in the death of Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter and is expected to be booked today into the Columbia County Jail in the shooting, authorities said.

A new account of Wednesday's fatal encounter indicates the suspect shot Painter after wrestling the chief's gun away from him. Police so far haven't confirmed that detail.

A Facebook memorial page set up for Painter, 55, gives this account of what happened:

“Chief Ralph Painter was shot and killed after responding to a local car stereo shop in which a man was attempting to take a car that did not belong to him. When Chief Painter made contact with the man a struggle ensued. The subject was able to disarm him and then fatally shot him."

and

"...Chief Painter is survived by his wife and seven children....”

and

"... Daniel Armaugh Butts is accused of shooting the police chief at Rainier Sound Authority..."


More at link (including a sweet photo of the chief helping out at a donut fundraiser)
 
Oh, this is breaking my heart. Here in Oregon, we revere our police chiefs. I have so many friends in LE and this hits so close. Rest in peace, Chief Painter. You were a brave brave man...an honor to your community and to your family. God be with you.

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...rainier_police_chiefs_body_returned_home.html

After a somber procession, Rainier police chief's body returned home

"To the sound of muffled cries and sobbing, the body of fallen Police Chief Ralph Painter came back home this afternoon after a procession of vehicles that stretched from Clackamas to Rainier.

At least 60 to 70 patrol cars, fire trucks and other vehicles escorted the SUV carrying Painter's body, which was being returned from the state medical examiner's office, where his autopsy had been performed...."

More at link


The officers lining the bridges through Portland just bring me to my knees.
 
I am becoming more and more alarmed at the number of seemingly mentally healthy and bright young men in their early 20s who snap and commit violence. Are they off their meds, experiencing an onset of illness or are they responding violently because of a medication? Is it somehow connected to the fact that marijuana is far more potent than it once was. Oregon is known for extremely high THC pot--medical grade--as medical pot is legal. Daniel's father said he'd stopped smoking pot in August and then began a descent into mental illness. Had the pot been helping in some way?

I've been deeply involved with child welfare and teen and young adult issues for 30 odd years now, and I swear there's an uptick of this particular profile. Notice that Butts was in a seemingly well known and "safe" place, with his sister, and helped by a man who had known him since infancy. And yet he fought with the Police Chief, a man he knew, and shot him in the head.

Warning: Butts mug shot is downright scary. He's just not there at all.

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...rratic_before_fatal_encounter.html#incart_mce

Accused killer of Rainier police chief had become increasingly erratic before fatal encounter


"The young man accused of killing Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter had slid into wild mood swings in recent weeks, becoming increasingly erratic before the fatal confrontation at a car stereo store. Friends and family were worried about Daniel Armaugh Butts.

Last week, the 21-year-old from Kalama, Wash., was in Rainier at the Exhaust Shop and Tire Center. It's right next door to the Sound Authority, where Wednesday's shooting took place. Butts was with his sister Susan, looking for tires. At one point, he went to the back of the tire shop where the owner, DF, had several vehicles parked. Something was strange about his behavior, and DF, who has known Butts since he was an infant, was cautious....."

and

"....The shooting has shattered the small community, leaving friends and family grappling with one question: Why?"

more at link
 
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...lph_painter_he_always_cared_about_people.html

Slain Rainier police chief Ralph Painter: "He always cared about people"


"Hundreds of men, women and children lined the sidewalks of Rainier on Thursday in a cold evening rain to watch the long, silent procession bring home the body of their beloved police chief.

Some sobbed. Some hugged. Some stood in silent sentry as dozens of patrol cars rolled into town with their lights flashing, escorting a sport-utility vehicle carrying Ralph Painter's body to a Rainier mortuary. He was a father, son, brother and grandfather. A marathon runner and musician. But most of all he was the town's police chief whose generous, easy-going spirit uplifted many lives...."

and

"....Painter, a 25-year veteran of the Rainier Police Department, led the force for five years...."

more at link
 
I am becoming more and more alarmed at the number of seemingly mentally healthy and bright young men in their early 20s who snap and commit violence. Are they off their meds, experiencing an onset of illness or are they responding violently because of a medication? Is it somehow connected to the fact that marijuana is far more potent than it once was. Oregon is known for extremely high THC pot--medical grade--as medical pot is legal. Daniel's father said he'd stopped smoking pot in August and then began a descent into mental illness. Had the pot been helping in some way?

I've been deeply involved with child welfare and teen and young adult issues for 30 odd years now, and I swear there's an uptick of this particular profile. Notice that Butts was in a seemingly well known and "safe" place, with his sister, and helped by a man who had known him since infancy. And yet he fought with the Police Chief, a man he knew, and shot him in the head.

Warning: Butts mug shot is downright scary. He's just not there at all.

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...rratic_before_fatal_encounter.html#incart_mce

Accused killer of Rainier police chief had become increasingly erratic before fatal encounter


"The young man accused of killing Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter had slid into wild mood swings in recent weeks, becoming increasingly erratic before the fatal confrontation at a car stereo store. Friends and family were worried about Daniel Armaugh Butts.

Last week, the 21-year-old from Kalama, Wash., was in Rainier at the Exhaust Shop and Tire Center. It's right next door to the Sound Authority, where Wednesday's shooting took place. Butts was with his sister Susan, looking for tires. At one point, he went to the back of the tire shop where the owner, DF, had several vehicles parked. Something was strange about his behavior, and DF, who has known Butts since he was an infant, was cautious....."

and

"....The shooting has shattered the small community, leaving friends and family grappling with one question: Why?"

more at link

The police chief looked like such a nice man too.

I really think it's all the cuts in Mental health care. They've cut it again in my area. just my opinion
 
The police chief looked like such a nice man too.

I really think it's all the cuts in Mental health care. They've cut it again in my area. just my opinion

Hi TiredBlondy, I think you're right about the cuts in medicine for Mental health care, especially in Oregon.

I was bartending in the middle of downtown Portland {3rd and Burnside} in the late 90's when the State cut funds for medicine to these people, many of whom were homeless and bi-polar.

It took a few months to appear, but we started noticing how these people had changed emotionally. It was a bit scary as they often were on edge and hostile. So sad as these people had little to fight with to get what they needed. And it changed the feeling in the streets, on the busses, etc for everyone.


About the Chief, I read that they think every person in Ranier knew him. God Bless his family.
 
I'm in Oregon too and one of our special needs sons (who is 25) has been in the lottery for a medical card for 4 years. He has a number of mental health diagnoses, two separate year long stays at the old State Hospital, brittle Type 1 Diabetes, and liver/kidney failure. Anyone would think he'd be a shoe in but so far, no luck.

He's been turned down time and time and time again and I'm a darned good advocate. That tells me that many are slipping through the cracks. The irony is that our son uses the ER as his medical resource and is a frequent guest of the ICU. He pumps gas and works his ever-loving bunnies off and is proud to do it. He's 25 and already has no feeling in his fingers and feet. But when are taxpayers going to realize that a penny saved is a penny earned? Our son not only skips his psychotropics (which can cost upwards to $500 month), he'll skip his insulin when he can't pull together $400/month. We all help him (and he sleeps in our garage) but he's proud and sometimes will just skip eating when he has no money for insulin. There are patient assistance programs but they typically require you to have a regular physician. People without money, just don't. Plus there's a massive amount of paperwork, documentation, and oversight.

It's really heartbreaking to me.
 
Well for a start here's a problem in the oregonlive article, staring them in the face:

Mikel Butts, who raised Daniel and Susan alone, said their mother is the former wife of his brother. He said she called him at his Rainier home one day years ago and said she was desperate and needed a place to park her trailer. They ended up having a relationship, leading to the births of the two children.

Mikel Butts said he hoped to keep the family together by moving to a new home in Kalama, Wash. But it didn't work out and the children's mother took off, he said.

More parents who think they can behave any old how and then are surprised when their kids act out...this child (yes child) was conceived out of a relationship with his father's brother's wife, which I assume they have been told, and that can't possibly feel good, then they were abandoned by their mother. What's wrong with this picture?

Devastating for the Police Chief's family, condolences to them.
 
I'm in Oregon too and one of our special needs sons (who is 25) has been in the lottery for a medical card for 4 years. He has a number of mental health diagnoses, two separate year long stays at the old State Hospital, brittle Type 1 Diabetes, and liver/kidney failure. Anyone would think he'd be a shoe in but so far, no luck.

He's been turned down time and time and time again and I'm a darned good advocate. That tells me that many are slipping through the cracks. The irony is that our son uses the ER as his medical resource and is a frequent guest of the ICU. He pumps gas and works his ever-loving bunnies off and is proud to do it. He's 25 and already has no feeling in his fingers and feet. But when are taxpayers going to realize that a penny saved is a penny earned? Our son not only skips his psychotropics (which can cost upwards to $500 month), he'll skip his insulin when he can't pull together $400/month. We all help him (and he sleeps in our garage) but he's proud and sometimes will just skip eating when he has no money for insulin. There are patient assistance programs but they typically require you to have a regular physician. People without money, just don't. Plus there's a massive amount of paperwork, documentation, and oversight.

It's really heartbreaking to me.

Heartbreaking to me too Missizzy just hearing about your son. I am so glad he has you as his advocate and his own room, even if it is a garage. I hope something good happens for him. In this day and age no one should ever suffer with loss of medicine. xox
 
If you read further, though, you'll find that this man has stood by those kids since they were very young and they've been raised in a very small and close-knit town. The owner of the tire shop and the police chief had both known the young man his entire life. I'm not negating the children's beginnings but they have had a good deal of consistency.

Eleven of my fourteen children were born to prostitutes or were the outcome of incestuous rapes and I'm the very first to vote for NATURE (hands down) but it does seem that this young man was struggling and services were not made available. Many say that they were worried about him. Well......

I was recently floored when I advised a homeless son in Portland to seek out the County Mental Health Agency for his paralyzing symptoms of PTSD from his rape years ago. I was shocked when he was turned away because he didn't have $56 for a visit. No, far more than shocked. When I called them to try to pay by credit card, they refused. They'd already referred him to a church for help. It was too late. He disappeared again. I haven't heard from him in 11 months.
 
Scandi--If you were here in the 90s, you surely remember the people who literally died because of lack of medicine. People were deprived of their anti-seizure meds, heart meds and insulin. It was beyond belief.

FWIW, our garage is well heated, he has his dog (with vet care paid for by us), and he surely has kitchen privileges. It's not what I expected, though. He's run up over $50,000 at our local hospital. They stopped billing. Another son recently had a mild heart attack related to his Marfan's Syndrome. The hospital didn't even bother to bill. They know there's no funds. Does this make sense?

My guess is that, even if Butts had sought mental health care in Ranier, it would have simply been a band-aid. And all because of this, we lost a fine fine police officer. And seven children lost their father.
 
Scandi--If you were here in the 90s, you surely remember the people who literally died because of lack of medicine. People were deprived of their anti-seizure meds, heart meds and insulin. It was beyond belief.

FWIW, our garage is well heated, he has his dog (with vet care paid for by us), and he surely has kitchen privileges. It's not what I expected, though. He's run up over $50,000 at our local hospital. They stopped billing. Another son recently had a mild heart attack related to his Marfan's Syndrome. The hospital didn't even bother to bill. They know there's no funds. Does this make sense?

My guess is that, even if Butts had sought mental health care in Ranier, it would have simply been a band-aid. And all because of this, we lost a fine fine police officer. And seven children lost their father.

Yes, I do remember the late 90's and those problems. So many of the affected people I saw were homeless, mainly because my bar was on 3rd and Couch, right around the corner from the Mission. I haven't been close to this problem for many years but am sure it is the same as I don't think Oregon reinstated their medical plan as it used to be.

xox

I had no doubt your garage was livable and think it is a great fix as you are both close together.
 
At the other end of the spectrum is the overuse of meds:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110107...lYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDbmV3ZXJhbnRpcHN5

We've spent the last three years involved in DD foster care and I cannot tell you how the mental health agencies seem to want almost every foster child on Risperdol, Abilify, and/or Seroquel. Those are heavy duty drugs which we are handing out to school kids. We had to literally go to a judge to get permission to wean a foster child off these heavy duty anti-psychotics, prescribed because she so naively once said that she sometimes heard someone talking to her. She said "like my brain, you know". We heard a "conscience". The doctor heard "voices". That's wonderful, if you want to keep children compliant and zombies. But please explain to me how that child is supposed to access those meds (at up to $1000 month) once they leave foster care and have zero health insurance? They literally go cold turkey at age 18 and that can be devastating. It's criminal.

FWIW, our foster daughter has been drug free for over a year and she's thriving. It's not all about meds. People with mental illness need and are entitled to (IMO) a whole range of services--case management, medication, therapy, job assistance--to keep them being productive citizens. Then, we'd all benefit and save money and maybe we wouldn't have so many needless deaths and suicides.



ETA--We have three young men living in that garage--two ours and a friend. There are no services available. My husband spends his days in state offices filling out paperwork for young adults who are tremendously sick.
 
At the other end of the spectrum is the overuse of meds:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110107...lYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDbmV3ZXJhbnRpcHN5

We've spent the last three years involved in DD foster care and I cannot tell you how the mental health agencies seem to want almost every foster child on Risperdol, Abilify, and/or Seroquel. Those are heavy duty drugs which we are handing out to school kids. We had to literally go to a judge to get permission to wean a foster child off these heavy duty anti-psychotics, prescribed because she so naively once said that she sometimes heard someone talking to her. She said "like my brain, you know". We heard a "conscience". The doctor heard "voices". That's wonderful, if you want to keep children compliant and zombies. But please explain to me how that child is supposed to access those meds (at up to $1000 month) once they leave foster care and have zero health insurance? They literally go cold turkey at age 18 and that can be devastating. It's criminal.

FWIW, our foster daughter has been drug free for over a year and she's thriving. It's not all about meds. People with mental illness need and are entitled to (IMO) a whole range of services--case management, medication, therapy, job assistance--to keep them being productive citizens. Then, we'd all benefit and save money and maybe we wouldn't have so many needless deaths and suicides.



ETA--We have three young men living in that garage--two ours and a friend. There are no services available. My husband spends his days in state offices filling out paperwork for young adults who are tremendously sick.

Thanks for that other side of the picture Missizzy, And one thing I know is your children, and those you and your hubby help, are very fortunate to have you both there for them. So many don't have that backup and love in their corner.

xox
 
Ok, met Missizzy here a few months back;) However, I am 26, spent 11 years in so OR, and 7 years in Ptown. I KNOW oregon. I KNOW they DO NOT take care of the ill, whether mental or physical. WHy do you think I moved???? I have 2 special needs children, and Oregon will not do anything to help, wanna know why??? I made $9.15 per hour in a pt job, and I was the only income, now I could get food stamps, way more than we needed ( i love coupons;) ) but NO medical help for my children. BTW I LOVE Colorado :rocker: Ok, sorry for the O/T


So I had tried to avoid this thread, don't know anyone in ranier, didn't want to be brought down by a sad situation, too many of them on here right now! But after seeing it bumped up front again, I looked.... And I so agree that this young man probably needed some help. However, my total thoughts and prayers go out to the ranier community, and all of N. Oregon. I showed hubby 1 picture, of the 3 officers on the bridge looking down, and he said, what happened in portland? Portland is a loving place, and to see LE and a community brought to a standstill because of this is heartbreaking. I am glad to know people care. I am glad that people are helping. I am glad that the famliy is not alone. I don't know what I want to say, just my thoughts are with Oregon right now :(
 
Mommy23--I fully understand why you moved. We came very very close to moving about 8 years ago when they shut down so many services. The only reason we didn't is that we'd built such a strong support system for our kids who were not yet adults. That took 16 years and is worth something. Now that they are adults, they might as well be chopped liver. The schools pulled in around $9-10,000/year for their special ed services but not a penny was spent on job readiness--only help in filling out college applications--for children with 50-75 IQs and trying to fit them into mainstream classes like Spanish, history, and science where they hadn't a clue. All these mainstream classes took up the time that should have been used to learn how to make change, open a checking account, manage their bills, figure out where to live, and navigate a county without much of a bus service when you don't know how to drive.

I've never been so angry. One of our sons actually did attend a college for 4 months and wracked up almost $8000 in debt before he was asked to leave as he couldn't do the coursework. He had NO earthly idea what he was doing. He only reads at a 3rd grade level but they gave him a diversity scholarship. It's just fabulous for everyone to feel all warm and fuzzy about giving people a hand up but we need to be cautious as to how we might raise people's hopes a little high. I happen to believe in facing reality and running with it. I adore my children just as they are and I have no rose colored glasses as to whom they are not.

I fully agree with your husband. That photo of the officers on the Portland bridges was heart wrenching. My daughter lives in Portland and stopped to watch. She said you could hear a pin drop when the chief passed under the bridge. It's hellish for a small town to lose their beloved chief. He sounded like a wonderful man. All I can hope is that someone will wake up and realize that we HAVE to get these young adults in crisis some help!!

Another update:

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...ng_of_rainier_police_chief_ralph_painter.html

Yet another photo that makes you want to weep.
 

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