Seaside police officer fatally shot while serving warrant

SEASIDE, Ore. (AP) — A police officer in Seaside, Ore., was fatally shot as he was serving an arrest warrant Friday night, authorities said.

The 55-year-old man who was shot by another officer also died.

Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis on Saturday identified the officer as Seaside police Sgt. Jason Gooding, 39, who joined the police department in 2003.

Authorities say the shooting happened Friday night in downtown Seaside as Gooding and another officer were attempting to arrest a man wanted on a warrant for felony assault.

When the man, identified as Phillip Ferry, wouldn’t show his hands, the other officer used a Taser on him, Marquis said. While the Taser seemed to incapacitate Ferry, “it didn’t do much more,” he said.

The suspect went down on the ground. Gooding tried to subdue him Ferry pulled out gun and fired once. The other officer returned fire, shooting the suspect, who later died at a local hospital. The second officer was not hurt.

Marquis said it appears that the fatal shooting of Ferry is justified.

Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin said Gooding was familiar with Ferry, and that Ferry had “a vast record” and had been in-and-out of jail.

Bergin, who was also Gooding’s neighbor, said he was a good man.

“He was an extraordinarily good police officer,” Bergin said.

Seaside Police Chief Dave Ham echoed that sentiment.

“He demonstrated the best in what we do as law enforcement officers,” Ham said.

Gooding is survived by his wife and two young girls. He graduated from Sherwood High School, and graduated from Portland State University. During his time with the department, he ran the drug team, worked as a detective sergeant and as a patrol sergeant.

Seaside is a resort town of about 6,500 people on the northern Oregon coast. It is about 80 miles west of Portland.

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