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Previous stories about Brandon Scruggs
From The Oregonian of Jan. 3, 2006Police: Shot boy was suicidal The 14-year-old pointed a semiautomatic rifle at a deputy, who opened fire, injuring him, Washington County officials say By HOLLY DANKS HILLSBORO — Washington County sheriff’s investigators say a 14-year-old boy who was shot by a deputy had taken his father’s high-velocity semiautomatic rifle out of an unlocked gun safe, loaded it with steel-cased, full metal jacket bullets and sped off in the family car late Monday after everyone else was in bed. Authorities continued Tuesday to look into details surrounding the shooting of Brandon Scruggs, an eighth-grader at Conestoga Middle School in Beaverton. They said Scruggs was suicidal Monday night when he jumped from the car so quickly, holding the loaded rifle, that the deputy had little time to react. Scruggs was in stable condition Tuesday at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, said Sgt. Michael O’Connell, a sheriff’s detective who leads the county’s Major Crimes Team. He declined to say where Scruggs was hit or how many times, citing the investigation’s preliminary status. Because of federal regulations, hospital representatives would not comment. O’Connell said Scruggs told medical personnel he pointed his rifle at the deputy because “I wanted him to shoot me, I wanted to die.” O’Connell said Scruggs’ parents — Glenn and Valerie Scruggs — “have no idea why he would do this, they’re perplexed.” He said they did not know Scruggs was missing Monday night or had taken their stick-shift Volkswagen. Scruggs’ parents could not be reached for comment Tuesday by The Oregonian. Sheriff’s Sgt. David Thompson said a deputy pulled over a car without taillights that was speeding west along Southwest Tualatin Valley Highway shortly after 11:30 p.m. Monday near Southeast 75th Avenue, in an unincorporated area near Hillsboro’s southeast corner. The deputy, whose name was not released, called for backup and told the driver to stay in the car, which had pulled about 30 feet onto 75th Avenue. Instead, O’Connell said, the driver “came bolting out of that car with a rifle in his hands holding it in a threatening manner.” The deputy backed a few feet behind his patrol car and fired because he thought his life was in danger, O’Connell said. “It all happened very quickly,” he said. The deputy, who was placed on paid administrative leave as is routine in officer-involved shootings, was to be interviewed today. Both the deputy and Scruggs were alone in their vehicles, investigators said. Scruggs did not fire his rifle, but O’Connell said it was loaded with ammunition that would “easily pierce a police vest.” Thompson added that such a round fired from a high-velocity SKS “would go through a car.” O’Connell said Scruggs and his father had gone target shooting with the weapon in the past week. “He knew it was more than just a pop gun,” O’Connell said. Scruggs is expected to face charges when he is released from the hospital. Monday night’s incident was the third in the past five months in which Washington County sheriff’s deputies shot someone. Lukus Glenn, 18, died Sept. 16 after two deputies shot him eight times when he threatened them, himself and his family with a knife outside his Tigard home. Jordan Case, 20, died Oct. 21 after a sheriff’s deputy shot him when he broke into a neighbor’s Tualatin apartment, then ran to a patrol car and tried to grab a gun. Shocked neighbors on Southwest Bristlecone Way south of Beaverton and west of Tigard, said Scruggs was quiet, didn’t cause trouble and seemed happy. They said Scruggs often went hunting and fishing with his father. The boy had a hunting license; anyone younger than 18 has to take a safety class and carry a state Hunter Education certificate when hunting off family private property. “He was always very nice, always very polite,” said Lori Brush, who lives five houses from the Scruggses. Conestoga Middle School students who live in Scruggs’ neighborhood said the boy loves to skateboard and hopes to become a professional. “He’s cool with his friends,” said Stilyan Slavov, a seventh-grader. “He’s nice.” Scruggs didn’t talk much of guns, his friends said, and didn’t seem depressed. “I didn’t think Brandon would do anything like this,” said Henry Taylor, a seventh-grader. Anyone with information about the shooting or Scruggs is asked to call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 503-846-2700. “We are very interested in talking with anyone who might know why he was so troubled,” O’Connell said. “We want to know what he was doing in Reedville and what was so bad about his life that he felt he needed police to shoot him.”From The Oregonian of Friday, Jan. 5, 2007 Police ID deputy who fired on boy with gun Officials haven’t said how many times the 14-year-old was hit or where By Holly Danks HILLSBORO — A patrol deputy with two years’ full-time experience with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was identified Thursday as the officer who shot a 14-year-old boy who came at him with a high-powered semiautomatic rifle. Deputy Kevin Mitcham, 28, was on routine patrol when he shot Brandon Scruggs shortly after 11:30 p.m. Monday on Southeast 75th Avenue, just north of Tualatin Valley Highway and outside Hillsboro city limits. Mitcham remains on paid administrative leave. The night of the shooting, Scruggs was taken by ambulance to Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center. Hospital representatives have refused to say anything about him, citing federal privacy regulations. Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael O’Connell said Scruggs told medical personnel shortly after the shooting that he wanted police to kill him. The detective said Scruggs took his father’s rifle from an unlocked gun safe, loaded it with full metal jacket, armor-piercing bullets, sneaked out of the house after everyone else was in bed and drove off in the family car. Sgt. David Thompson, sheriff’s office spokesman, said Scruggs came at Mitcham with a Russian-made, SKS military-style semiautomatic rifle after the deputy pulled him over for speeding and driving without taillights. Mitcham fired his handgun because he felt his life was in danger, Thompson said. While the investigation is ongoing, the sheriff’s office is not releasing information on how many times Mitcham fired his gun, how many times Scruggs was hit or where he was injured. Thompson released Mitcham’s name Thursday after investigators interviewed the deputy and he had been given a few days to deal with the shooting’s fallout. Thompson said it usually takes a couple of weeks for an officer to return to work after a shooting. Thompson said Mitcham was a Washington County reserve deputy for two years before he was hired for full-time patrol work. He also worked in the sheriff’s civil division while a reserve. Investigators ask that anyone who saw the incident or knew why Scruggs was troubled to call them at 503-846-2700. From The Oregonian of Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007 Teen shot by deputy faces charges Shooting The 14-year-old was shot twice after allegedly pointing a gun at the deputy By Holly Danks HILLSBORO — A 14-year-old Washington County boy shot by a deputy last week is awaiting juvenile charges while recovering from two gunshot wounds. Detectives from the Washington County Major Crimes Team referred Brandon Scruggs to the county Juvenile Department on Monday in connection with the New Year’s Day shooting. He is facing charges of menacing, unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm. Detectives said Scruggs took a Russian SKS semiautomatic rifle from his father’s unlocked gun safe, loaded it with full-metal-jacket bullets and sneaked out of the family’s house south of Beaverton and west of Tigard when his parents were in bed. About 11:30 p.m. Jan. 1, Deputy Kevin Mitcham pulled over a Volkswagen that was speeding west on Southeast Tualatin Valley Highway without taillights. After he pulled over on Southeast 75th Avenue, Scruggs left the car with the rifle and refused Mitcham’s commands to drop the weapon. Sgt. David Thompson said Tuesday that Mitcham fired four times as Scruggs crouched and shouldered the rifle, pointing it toward the deputy. Scruggs was hit once in the abdomen and once in the arm, Thompson said, but continued to hold the rifle as he lay on the ground. Every time the deputy reached for the gun, Scruggs pulled it back, Thompson said. “They kept going back and forth” until Scruggs eventually let go, Thompson said. Scruggs, who was taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, remains hospitalized. Because of federal privacy laws, hospital representatives refuse to release any information about the boy or his condition. Before any shots were fired, Scruggs told Mitcham, “I just want to die, shoot me,” Thompson said. Detectives are still trying to determine why Scruggs, an eighth-grader at Conestoga Middle School in Beaverton, may have been suicidal.From The Oregonian of Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2007 Law enforcement loses track of teen suspect A boy who was shot after pointing a rifle at an officer gets house arrest By Holly DanksHILLSBORO — A 14-year-old boy who was shot Jan. 1 after pointing a high-powered rifle at a Washington County sheriff’s deputy was at home without permission for nearly a month before his arraignment Tuesday on weapons charges. Without comment on the family’s actions to conceal their son from authorities, Juvenile Judge Michele Rini placed Brandon Scruggs on two weeks’ house arrest and ordered his parents to supervise him 24 hours a day after that. Also, his parents must remove all guns from the house. “You have to be watched at all times,” Rini said to Scruggs. “My concern is if you leave the house, then what are you up to?” Rini also ordered Scruggs to stay away from Conestoga Middle School at least until county juvenile counselors and the prosecutor review his psychological evaluation. Scott Upham, Scruggs’ private attorney, said the boy hasn’t left his parents’ supervision since being released from a psychiatric ward Jan. 17. Upham said the boy’s father, Boyce Scruggs, has been taking him to the family’s small Tigard manufacturing business, where he does schoolwork. The Beaverton School District provides a tutor for an hour a day, Upham said. Valerie Scruggs, his mother, told the judge, “Brandon has been very cooperative since he’s been at home; he’s done everything we’ve asked him to.” Brandon Scruggs did not comment during Tuesday’s court hearing. According to Washington County sheriff’s reports, Scruggs removed a high-powered Russian SKS semiautomatic rifle from his father’s unlocked gun safe and loaded it with full-metal jacket bullets. He then drove off in his parents’ car while they slept in their home in the 15000 block of Southwest Bristlecone Way, in an area south of Beaverton and west of Tigard. Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Mitcham stopped a car speeding on Southeast Tualatin Valley Highway shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 1. As Scruggs exited, he pulled out a rifle, refused orders to put it down and yelled, “I just want to die, shoot me,” Sgt. David Thompson said. Mitcham fired four times when Scruggs crouched and shouldered the rifle to take aim, Thompson said. The boy was hit in the abdomen and wrist. For the past several weeks, authorities thought Scruggs was undergoing psychiatric care at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center in Portland. Sheriff’s Detective Andy Hays said he called the boy’s parents to make sure he was still in the hospital because federal privacy rules prevented Legacy from releasing information. Had police known Scruggs was going to be released without informing them, they would have placed a guard at his hospital door, Hays said. “It would be safer for the community if he were in Donald E. Long juvenile home,” Hays said. “There is no way to be sure he won’t do anything else.” On Tuesday, Cal Downey, a county juvenile counselor, said a juvenile home detention team will drop by the Scruggses’ house unannounced at least once a day, seven days a week. Scruggs was arraigned on charges of unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He did not enter a plea but will have another hearing March 14 to determine if home detention is working and if he is going to contest the charges.

Potatoes on the Grill
camping Recipe of the WeekI was grilling chicken last night, and I had the ingredients for this recipe, so I gave it a try. It’s hard to go wrong with…

Portland will overhaul curbside recycling

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