County wants to partner with state to deter suicides on Astoria Bridge

Jan. 28—In the wake of another fatal jump off the Astoria Bridge, Clatsop County has asked the Oregon Department of Transportation to consider ways to prevent more suicides.

In a letter to Bill Jablonski, the district manager of the Department of Transportation, the county Board of Commissioners requested that the state partner with the county and local mental health professionals to assess a full range of prevention options.

On the afternoon of Jan. 12, James Neikes, a 29-year-old Astoria resident, jumped off the bridge. He landed on the grass east of Suomi Hall. Still breathing when police officers arrived, Neikes was taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital, then flown to a Portland-area hospital, where he died.

"These deaths not only impact the individual families who experience the tragic loss of life, but also their community peers, co-workers, and bystanders," the county's letter, signed by Mark Kujala, the board's chairman, said.

Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare, the county's mental health and substance abuse treatment contractor, said in a statement that the agency supports "the implementation of deterrence measures to help prevent future loss of life by way of the bridge.

"Tools such as fencing and netting have proven to be highly successful in deterring and preventing tall bridges from being used to take one's life," the statement said, "and we would enthusiastically encourage ODOT to consider these measures with regards to the Megler."

There have been several suicides off the Astoria Bridge in the past couple of decades, but the state does not keep an official count, Don Hamilton, a Department of Transportation public information officer, said. "We really don't know," he said.

The deaths have prompted difficult discussions among county leaders, social services agencies and law enforcement about mental health and substance abuse treatment on the North Coast.

While Neikes was in the county jail, he had two meetings, including one on Jan. 11, with Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare counselors, according to Sheriff Matt Phillips.

"He never indicated to anyone that he was suicidal, at least not to us," Phillips said. "So that was just a flat shock."

On Jan. 12, Neikes had a virtual hearing in Circuit Court with Judge Cindee Matyas. Neikes had been jailed 10 days earlier for two misdemeanors — criminal mischief in the second degree and criminal trespass in the second degree — and had two probation violations.

His attorney, Kristopher Kaino, noted at the hearing that cases like Neikes', where substance abuse and mental health issues interact, seem to be rising.

"We see more and more of these types of cases, and they become somewhat frustrating to try to help folks with, because I'm not sure what the best avenue is," the attorney said.

In an interview, Kaino said that when he started criminal defense work in the 1990s, he might have seen half a dozen mental health-related cases a year. "I've got three or four a month now with mental health issues, minimum," he said.

With few exceptions, people held in custody in Oregon have a statutory right to be brought to trial within 60 days unless they waive that right. But getting an in-depth psychological evaluation to see what services a person needs often takes longer.

Kaino said that people in custody for nuisance-type offenses, such as those that Neikes committed, often don't want to wait if they can get out earlier, even if staying in jail would lead to a psychological evaluation that may help them, "which I get," he said at the hearing.

Kaino and Neikes' probation officer, Barry Hazel, told Matyas that they weren't sure where Neikes was going to live after his release.

Neikes said, "I'm worried about how I'm going to — if I don't have a phone or anything — I'm worried about how I'm going to get a job and just manage all this at the same time. And I'm not sure really what I'm going to do right now."

Matyas dismissed the trespass charge and ordered that Neikes be put on 18 months of supervised probation. She also ordered that he get assessed for potential placement in a specialty court — either the drug court or mental health treatment court.

"I'll want to see you, every week, and check in to see how you're doing," the judge told him.

She urged Neikes to stay connected with people — from the probation officer to services such as Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare's Rapid Access Center.

"And I don't want you to lose hope, OK?" Matyas told him.

"OK," Neikes said.

As the hearing ended, Matyas told him, "Look forward to seeing you in the future."

"All right," Neikes said. "Thank you."

Before he was released from jail, Neikes asked for, and took, his afternoon medications, Phillips said. Neikes also asked for bus tokens; he needed to check in with his probation officer in Warrenton.

Neikes was laying plans to move into Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare's sober living house in Warrenton, Phillips said.

"Those are all good signs that he was forward-thinking and looking to the future," Phillips said.

Neikes left the jail at 2:05 p.m. About 15 minutes later, he was seen walking up the Astoria Bridge.

"James, he was a good kid. Nice kid. Very nice kid," Kaino said. "I was sick when I heard he did what he did."