[RiversEdge]

A Hillsboro police officer was “clearly justified” in shooting and killing a man last October in the parking lot of a police precinct, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office said Monday after completing its investigation.

In a three-page letter to the chief of police, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Lesowski detailed the events outside the Hillsboro Police Department’s West Precinct the night of Oct. 21, 2019 that led to Officer Bobby Voth opening fire and killing 39-year-old Jason Livengood of Camas, Washington.



According to the DA’s office, Livengood had followed another man, 35-year-old Flugencio Osornio-Ambriz, for 42 miles from Washington into Oregon.

Osornio-Ambriz told investigators that he noticed Livengood following him after he left his Camas jobsite. He drove into Oregon and became frightened when Livengood began tailgating him and making aggressive lane changes to keep up with him.

Fearful Livengood would follow him home, Osornio-Ambriz pulled into the Hillsboro police station’s west precinct parking lot to seek help. He contacted city employees, who in turn alerted Voth to the situation.

While Voth spoke to Livengood and Osornio-Ambriz in an effort to figure out what was going on, “Livengood stood next to the building, mute, staring straight ahead but looking at Osornio-Ambriz out of the corner of his eye,” Lesowski wrote.

Voth also noticed that Livengood had a handgun tucked under his left arm with its “hammer pulled back.”

Voth told Osornio-Ambriz to go back to where he had parked. Livengood began to follow. Voth tried to stop him, but Livengood kept trying to get to Osornio-Ambriz.

A struggle ensued between Voth and Livengood. Livengood broke free and had a “clear path” to Osornio-Ambriz. Voth opened fire, hitting Livengood in the back.



The DA’s office said Voth’s body camera corroborated what he and Osornio-Ambriz told investigators.

Lesowski wrote in his letter that investigators had learned that several of Livengood’s family members had recently died and he was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder after a car accident.

His girlfriend told investigators that Livengood left home that night to go to the grocery store saying, “I think it’s almost time for me to go home.” His girlfriend interpreted that to mean he was going to see God.

This Part of the Story was Released prior to the Police Listing:

On a cloudy fall evening at about 4:30 p.m, Jason Livengood left the Camas, Washington home he shared with his girlfriend Brittany McElroy.

He told her that he was heading to the nearby Safeway to pick up groceries for dinner that night, Monday, Oct. 21.
He never returned home.

An hour and a half later, Livengood, 39, was dead in the Hillsboro Police Department’s West Precinct parking lot 40 miles from home, fatally shot by Officer Bobby L. Voth.

Now, Livengood’s family is seeking answers to questions surrounding the circumstances of his death. Other than identifying Voth as the shooter, police have told the family little, citing an ongoing investigation by the Washington County Major Crimes Team in prohibiting the release of any details or police body camera footage.

McElroy has few clues as to what led her boyfriend of nearly three years on a journey that ended in his death.



Detectives have told McElroy that Livengood ended up at the precinct after following another driver from Washington to Oregon, she said.

Police have said publicly that Livengood was holding a handgun that he refused to drop when Voth shot him.

And three family members say the medical examiner told them that Livengood was shot twice — and that the bullets entered through his back. The medical examiner didn’t return a phone call requesting comment.

Voth, who previously spent 20 years working for the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, was involved in another fatal shooting in California, court records show. The victim was a disabled man whose family received a legal settlement after his death.

Livengood’s brother, Andrew Livengood, 41, said the whole episode leading to his brother’s death is bizarre — the way he was shot, and Livengood’s seemingly inexplicable behavior.

“It's so uncharacteristic of Jason,” Andrew Livengood said.
What the family learned about Livengood’s death from detectives and the medical examiner has only left them with more questions.

“Our mouths dropped and we were just in shock,” Andrew said, speaking of the moment he learned his brother had been shot in the back. “it was a whole new can of worms, of questions,” Andrew said.

Who was Jason Livengood?

Family and friends remember Livengood, a 6-foot-tall dark-haired man, as someone who avoided confrontation. He loved his elders.

He was respectful of law enforcement. His best friend in college had become an officer. A licensed EMT, he’d spent eight years as an emergency room technician in California, McElroy said.



The two met in a pub on Saint Patrick's Day in Atlanta, Georgia in 2017 and became inseparable. He was the kind of person who would make the people around him laugh.

“He was very intelligent. We’d have very deep conversations together,” McElroy said. “We’d have whimsical conversations. He had a playful personality — it’s what drew me to him.”

Livengood’s younger brother died of medical complications in July, and later that summer his grandmother also died, McElroy said. The grief was hard on Livengood.

He quit his job in highway emergency response for the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The couple moved to Camas from Atlanta on Sept. 9, less than two months before Livengood’s death.

Livengood had been born in Portland and had family connections in the area. His mother and brother were in California. McElroy got a job with a Hillsboro-based company, and the two decided to move closer to home.

Livengood looked for a job while working to renew his EMT certification, McElroy said.
It was supposed to be a fresh start.

She remembers dancing together around their new home, located on a street near Woodburn Elementary School in Camas, Washington — just a silly, random, joyful dance party.

“It took my future,” McElroy said. “It took the single-most important person in my life away from me.”

Officer Bobby L. Voth before Hillsboro

Before moving to the Portland metro area two years ago, Voth worked in law enforcement in Kern County, California.

The area stretches across the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and includes Bakersfield.
In Kern County, police officers and sheriff’s deputies are known for their use of lethal force.

In 2015, police in Kern County killed more people per capita than any other county in the country, a Guardian investigation revealed.

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office hired Voth in 1997, spokeswoman Angela Monroe said.
Court records show that in 2011, Voth — then a sergeant — was one of four officers who shot and killed Rudolfo “Rudy” Medrano.

Medrano, who was 35, was disabled and used a wheelchair. His leg had been amputated due to diabetes complications, his brother Ronnie Medrano said.

Court documents show the officers fired nine rounds at Medrano — one from Voth’s pistol, four from a Glock 22, three from a Bushmaster rifle and one from a shotgun.

When Voth and other officers shot Medrano, he was reportedly holding a knife and had called a 911 line for help, threatening to kill himself according to a Bakersfield News report. An incident review board ruled the shooting justified.

Since then, a second Guardian investigation and a 2017 American Civil Liberties Union report have revealed questionable law enforcement oversight in the county.

Medrano’s brothers sued the sheriff’s office and the other officers involved in federal court. The case was settled through a private mediator, court documents show. The county paid the family about $800,000, Ronnie Medrano said.

The ACLU in 2017 found that the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the Bakersfield Police Department “have engaged in patterns and practices that violate civil rights,” including excessive force and misconduct such as beatings.

Many of those who encountered severe force had a mental illness or disability, the report states.

The Oregonian/Oregonlive has requested copies of records related to Voth’s use of fatal force but has not yet received them.

Voth retired as a lieutenant with the sheriff’s office in 2017, Monroe said. The Hillsboro Police Department hired Voth that year.

What happened to Jason Livengood?

The night of Livengood’s death, McElroy had planned to go the grocery store with Livengood for supplies — she was planning to make a pot of chili and cheddar cheese cornbread for dinner, she said.

But McElroy, who works from home, wasn’t done for the day when it came time to shop. So Livengood told her to finish up and left for Safeway with a grocery list, driving her charcoal gray Toyota 4Runner.

When he didn’t come home, McElroy tried not to assume the worst. She thought he may have sought solitude to grieve; his grandmother’s memorial service was the previous weekend.

But detectives told McElroy that soon after leaving their house, Livengood encountered another man in Camas and at some point started following the man’s car, she said.

McElroy doesn’t know who that man was, whether the two knew each other, or why Livengood followed him across the Columbia River.

Livengood’s pursuit of the other driver led all the way to the Hillsboro West Precinct parking lot, McElroy said the police told her.

That’s where Livengood encountered Voth.
At 6:11 p.m., an officer — presumably Voth, but that is unclear from police statements — was investigating a “suspicious circumstance” between Livengood and the driver of another vehicle, Hillsboro police said.

“During the encounter, one of the drivers was armed with a handgun and refused to drop it,” a news release states.
That driver was Livengood, police said. Voth then shot him.



Voth’s position relative to Livengood at the time of the shooting is unknown. Also unclear is whether or not other officers were present, or what words might have been exchanged before the gunfire.

Family members said they were told the entry wounds were in Livengood’s back and that the bullets did not exit his body.

Livengood was pronounced dead at the scene, a news release states.
When travelling, McElroy and Livengood both kept their own guns in the car as a protective measure, so it wasn’t unusual for him to have a gun, McElroy said.

She can’t remember exactly what kind of handgun Livengood was holding when he was shot, but police told her it was his own, she said.

When searching the 4Runner, police found her gun where she usually kept it, tucked beneath the driver’s seat, she said.

Police and the Washington County District Attorney’s office declined to release more information about the encounter between Voth, Livengood, and the unnamed driver to the Oregonian/Oregonlive.

They did not confirm the family’s account of the medical examiner's report and have not answered questions about why Voth’s bullets would have entered through Livengood’s back.

According to his uncle, Roger Livengood, Jason Livengood had never been involved with the police before.

“Jason had a handgun out,” Roger Livengood said. “Nobody knows why.”

What’s still unknown

The family wants to know the identity of the man Livengood encountered and what would motivate Livengood to follow him all the way to Hillsboro.

“Because the investigation is ongoing, the DA’s office cannot release any factual information about the case,” Stephen Mayer, spokesman for the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, said.

“When the investigation is concluded all reports will be released, along with footage of any police body cameras involved.”

The investigation will take two to five months, Mayer said. When it is complete, the DA’s office will determine whether a grand jury will review the case.

“We understand there is a process and it does take time, especially for video footage to be released,” Andrew said.

But the family, which has lost three members in four months, needs closure, Andrew said.

“We want to see if the video footage shows him actually resisting and being threatening in any kind of manner,” Andrew said. “Why was a fatal shot required to subdue him? Why was any type of other restraint not used?”

[iceman247]

are you ok ? you shot him twice in his back you fucking pig !!

[pat11784]

Clearly a good shoot!

[DirtyRoofer]

Man that’s a tough situation... you gotta drop the gun man. Crazy

[ObamaPhones666]

Yeah, make sure you mute that mic so u can get your LIES straight!!!!



FUCK THE POLICE!!!!

[kelvin92]

Originally Posted by ObamaPhones666 ↗

Yeah, make sure you mute that mic so u can get your LIES straight!!!!



FUCK THE POLICE!!!!

I hate corrupt cops and all but the guy was reaching for his gun here. There's bullets and a gun on the ground.

[Splay]

If both guys have a gun, it's a gunfight even before anybody shoots. The cop won the gunfight. Oh, well. If you want a nice gunfight, don't choose a cop for an opponent. They practice, and some of them have done it before.

[WindsofWoe22]

Fuck the cops but the guy didnt comply to putting his weapon down. I've seen plenty of cops have far less patience in such circumstances. Whoever is all "FTP" on this one is clearly delusional. Good shooting

[Padraig Flaherty]

Completely justified under the law, and morally before God! In fact, I think the amount of time he took (allowing the perpetrator to comply, etc.) was bordering the point of negligible, as he was putting his own life, as well as the other man's and the public at large, in peril! Case closed.

[pokerplay]

Dude, that was the most detailed fucking description of events i've ever seen on here. Bravo.