4/23/2023 News Roundup

OFFICER DOWN

<<An Oregon reserve police officer who was shot and killed last weekend was honored Saturday during a celebration of life event in Nyssa.

Friends, family and the community remembered 43-year-old Joe “JJ” Johnson as a good person dedicated to law enforcement and helping others. People came to the memorial from as far as Multnomah County.

Johnson was shot on April 15 while responding to a call in Nyssa. The suspect, 36-year- old Rene Castro, was arrested Monday after a two-day manhunt. He is facing several charges including murder.>>

<<A father of two children, Johnson received the “Law Enforcement Medal of Ultimate Sacrifice,” which Gov. Kotek awarded to his family.>>

https://www.kptv.com/2023/04/23/family-colleagues-mourn-officer-shot-killed-nyssa/

<<A week after the death of Nyssa, Oregon police officer Joseph Johnson, the eastern Oregon community came together Saturday to celebrate his life.

Johnson was shot and killed on April 15 while attempting to stop an armed suspect who was arrested two days later at his home in Ontario, Oregon.

In a ceremony at Nyssa High School, the 43-year-old was honored for his service to the community.

As a police officer reserve, Johnson was an unpaid volunteer. Nyssa Police Chief Don Ballou said that shows the kind of person he was.

“This fine man was hungry to hunt the criminal element, He would go out and do tireless work day after day,” Ballou said. “You’d find him on some corner looking for traffic. If he wasn’t doing that he was answering calls and if he wasn’t answering calls he was looking for the crime.”

Johnson, he said, was the first in line to volunteer for community events.>>

https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/nyssa-officer-killed-on-duty-honored-in-eastern-oregon/