MAY 2023 - Blues Vol 39 No. 5

AROUND THE COUNTRY yrs.

AROUND THE COUNTRY yrs. NYSSA, OR. Nysaa Police Corporal Joe Johnson was murdered while investigating a violent suspect threatening residents. Nyssa, OR – Nyssa Police Department (NPD) Reserve Corporal Joseph “Joe” Johnson was murdered in the line of duty on Saturday while investigating a report about a violent suspect threatening people and damaging property near a local residence. Malheur County District Attorney Dave Goldthorpe said the incident occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. on April 15, the Malheur Enterprise reported. Goldthorpe said the NPD received a report of an incident involving “a violent individual” who had allegedly threatened several people and damaged property near a residence in Nyssa. The suspect was later identified as 36-year-old Rene Castro, The Malheur Enterprise reported. Cpl. Johnson, 43, was responding to the area when he learned Castro had fled in a vehicle. He soon spotted the suspect vehicle and “began a pursuit through the city,” Goldthorpe said. The chase continued to the area of Locust Drive and Third Street, where Castro abruptly pulled up at a home, The Malheur Enterprise reported. Cpl. Johnson then pulled off the road and stopped his patrol car to make contact with Castro. “Immediately upon making the stop, an armed subject [believed to be Castro] began shooting at Officer Johnson,” Goldthorpe said. “There was no time to return fire before Officer Johnson was fatally hit.” Malheur County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) deputies and members of the Oregon State Police (OSP) were already responding to the scene after being alerted about the pursuit and arrived to find the wounded corporal, the Malheur Enterprise reported. Castro had fled the scene and has not been apprehended. “EMTs were on scene in record time, with the Malheur County Sheriff’s Department right behind, but Officer Johnson was already deceased,” Goldthorpe said. The corporal was still inside his vehicle when he succumbed to his wounds, according to KTVB. Investigators found Castro’s CORPORAL JOE JOHNSON abandoned SUV less than two blocks away from the scene of the attack, the Malheur Enterprise reported. The manhunt for Castro continues. 32 The BLUES The BLUES 33