Large crowd at slain Ore. officer’s memorial

PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — More than 700 friends, relatives and law enforcement officers turned out for a memorial honoring an eastern Oregon correctional officer killed when he stopped to help a person he thought was a stranded motorist.

Oregon Corrections Chief Max Williams said the life and selflessness of 42-year-old Buddy Ray Herron should inspire others.

Hundreds of Northwest police, firefighters, correctional officers and paramedics attended Monday’s ceremony in Pendleton, Ore.

Williams advised Herron’s three sons and a daughter to “honor him by following his example of hard work, duty and compassion.”

Herron was able to call 911 late on the night of Nov. 28 to report he’d been stabbed. He was on his way to work at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. He was pronounced dead at a Pendleton hospital.

The Umatilla County district attorney’s office has charged 22-year-old Joshua Weeks with murder.