Sheriff's Deputies, Eagle Point officer justified in shootout

Nick Morgan, Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore.
·2 min read

Apr. 17—A grand jury has justified two Jackson County sheriff's deputies and an Eagle Point police officer for a shootout with a wanted man during which that involved at least 19 rounds fired from their duty weapons.

Cpl. Chad Prins and Deputy Tyler Cam with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and Eagle Point Officer Donny Jordan were justified for exchanging gunfire with a 39-year-old man wanted by the U.S. Marshal's service during a Feb. 23 traffic stop, according to a release issued Thursday by the Jackson County District Attorney's Office.

The grand jury heard from 13 witnesses including the driver whose passenger, Dale Arthur Amstutz-Dunn, 39, fired a 9 mm handgun at Cpl. Prins during the traffic stop — sparking a shootout that ultimately ended with Amstutz-Dunn turning the gun on himself.

Prins' ballistic vest protected him from Amstutz-Dunn's shot. He testified that that he saw Amstutz-Dunn move, saw the flash of light and heard the bang.

"He described it felt like somebody hit him with a hammer in the chest," the release issued by the DA's office states.

The traffic stop stemmed from a domestic violence call involving Amstutz-Dunn at 7:21 p.m. in the 100 block of Idlewood Drive in Eagle Point in which Amstutz-Dunn made paranoid statements about getting into a shootout with police, a woman testified to the grand jury.

A friend picked up Amstutz-Dunn from the house in a Chevy Tahoe. The driver, identified as Adam Hackworth, testified that Amstutz-Dunn called his mother prior to the traffic stop and told her, "whatever happens, I love you."

Jordan pulled over Hackworth and Amstutz-Dunn down the street. Cpl. Prins, Deputy Cam and JCSO Det. Ben Fazio provided backup.

Prins, after being shot, fired at least three shots recovered from the front of the vehicle. Deputy Cam fired 12 rounds and Officer Jordan fired four rounds.

"Not all of the bullets fired from officers were accounted for at the scene," the release states.

The shot that killed Amstutz-Dunn, however, was a self-inflicted wound to the head, according to Jackson County Medical Director Dr. James Olson, who conducted the autopsy.