Church on the Hill Officer Involved Shooting in Eagle Point, Oregon
On February 23, 2021 a domestic disturbance call ended with one man shot dead and another man injured following an officer involved shooting in the parking lot of the Church on The Hill in Eagle Point, Oregon.
Jackson County Sheriff's deputies attempted to pull over a vehicle belonging to Dale Arthur Amstutz-Dunn, a 39 year old Portland man with an extensive violent criminal history who was visiting a residence in the 100 block of Idlewood Road.
Amstutz-Dunn allegedly had been arguing with his girlfriend when the situation became violent. The police were called and Amstutz-Dunn fled the scene with another unidentified male. An Eagle Point Police officer stopped his vehicle in the church parking lot. When Jackson County Sheriff's deputies arrived to assist EPPD, Amstutz-Dunn fired gunshots, striking a deputy in the chest. The police then opened fire on the suspect vehicle, mortally wounding Amstutz-Dunn and injuring his yet to be identified passenger.
A reporter from KDRV contacted me and requested an interview because I had posted on Facebook that I heard the gunfire.
Eagle Point is a small community. Officer involved shootings are rare but they do happen.
Two years ago an Eagle Point police officer fatally shot a man in the bathroom of Carl's Jr. who had violently attacked him and another officer and was thought to be armed with a gun. KDRV interviewed me about that incident too.
I feel ill at ease walking past the church knowing that a man was killed there, even though there's not a doubt in anyone's mind that he deserved it. I wish people would choose to surrender peacefully to police officers rather than resort to deadly violence. There can only be one outcome when one decides to shoot at a police officer. I'm worried about the future of Eagle Point. It was oince a small town, thought to be immune from violent crimes that plague larger cities. Its why so many people choose to live here. I feel the safety net has been cut, and in this case the church bells are broken. I fear officer involved shootings will become commonplace all over America unless something can be done to put a stop to the violence and the bloodshed.