Grand Jury: Police shooting was justified

David Rupkalvis, The World, Coos Bay, Ore.
·4 min read

Apr. 2—A Douglas County grand jury met Monday and decided law enforcement officials were justified when the shot and killed 30-year-old David Robert Ruozi Jr. earlier this month.

After the grand jury met, District Attorney Rick Wesenberg held a press conference, where he outlined what happened March 9 when law enforcement officials negotiated with Ruozi for five hours before shooting him.

Wesenberg said the events leading up to the shooting began Feb. 25 when Ruozi shot a killed a man in Springfield. After the shooting, Springfield police received a tip that Ruozi admitted to the killing, giving details only the shooter would know.

Working with the FBI, Springfield police were able to track Ruozi's phone to a home in Reedsport. Douglas County Sheriff's Office deputies observed Ruozi leaving that home as a passenger in a white Acura. They made a traffic stop at the Recreation Station gas station in Reedsport.

Officers ordered both men out of the car, and the driver complied and was detained. Ruozi, however refused to get out.

"Ruozi was ordered out of the car," Wesenberg said. "When that didn't work, officers asked him to get out of the car. But Ruozi was extremely agitated. Ruozi announced to officers that he was not going to be arrested, that he was going to Valhalla."

Wesenberg said officers on scene attempted to negotiate with Ruozi in an attempt to get him out of the vehicle.

"Ruozi was not going to surrender," Wesenberg said. "He said he was not going back to prison and there was going to be a shootout resulting in his death."

For hours, sheriff's deputies negotiated with Ruozi, trying to get him to voluntarily leave the car.

"At times, Ruozi would seem calm and he would laugh with officers as they attempted to build rapport," Wesenberg said. "However, such moments were short-lived, and Ruozi would cycle back to being angry and upset and directing officers to shoot him."

During the standoff, he confirmed he murdered the man in Springfield. He claimed he had split personalities and one of his personalities committed the killing.

"Ruozi knew details of the murder only the killer could have known," Wesenberg said.

At one point, Ruozi requested a quarter pounder from McDonald's and officers got him a Big Mac, fries and a pie. At another time, he requested cigarettes, and officers got him cigarettes.

"They wanted to take Ruozi safely without any members of the public, any officers or Mr. Ruozi getting hurt," Wesenberg said. "But they weren't going to allow Ruozi to hurt anybody either."

Several times, Ruozi demanded to speak to his 7-year-old stepdaughter, but Wesenberg said that could not be allowed. He did call his family and ex-wife during the ordeal.

Wesenberg said around four hours into the incident, Ruozi announced he was smoking methamphetamine, after which he stopped talking to negotiators, threw his phone away and began yelling.

Law enforcement then moved to block the car in completely, and in an attempt to defuse the situation attempted to throw tear gas through the back window.

"Even then, he could put up his hands and yell he surrendered, and Ruozi would simply be in jail right now," Wesenberg said. "Instead, Ruozi looked around for targets. Now, Ruozi actually grabbed the gun with his right hand. He started getting out of the Acura with the gun in his right hand. That's as far as he got."

Wesenberg said four officers fired six shots, killing Ruozi on the spot.

"Make no mistake, Ruozi was a cold-blooded killer," the DA said. "He had spent time watching and calculating positions of each surrounding officer, and when Ruozi raised up the gun he was enraged. His only purpose was to murder yet another person. Ruozi had to be stopped."

Wesenberg said he and the grand jury agreed the officers involved acted properly.

"They did everything in their power to bring this to a peaceful resolution, and it was just not meant to be."

Wesenberg said after the shooting, the Roseburg Police Department led an investigation into the incident. Their findings, and testimony from 12 witnesses were presented to the grand jury.

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