Release of man baffles police

JUNCTION CITY — The release of a man from the Johnson Unit — PeaceHealth’s psychiatric crisis unit at Sacred Heart Medical Center, University District — after he told police early Sunday morning he was hoping they would shoot and kill him, has Junction City Police Chief Mark Chase baffled.

“It’s hard to understand,” Chase said Sunday night.

Junction City police received a call about 12:40 a.m. Sunday that a man was acting strangely near First and Ivy streets, by the Guaranty car and recreational vehicle dealership, Chase said.

When officers arrived, they found 32-year-old Michael Deering, whom Chase said pulled a gun from his waistband that resembled a semiautomatic pistol.

Officers attempted to make contact with Deering, trying to get him to drop the weapon and shining lights on him, but he fled, Chase said.

Deering then led them on a foot chase through dealership’s parking lots and local streets, Chase said. The Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police were called for backup, he said.

Police eventually were able to corner Deering, and an officer put him in a “police hold” and took him down while he still had the weapon in his hand, Chase said.

“And he basically said his intentions that night were to have a police officer shoot and kill him,” Chase said.

Deering said he picked Guaranty because he knew the dealership had tight security and he was hoping someone would see him and call police so that he would be shot and killed, Chase said.

The weapon turned out to be a BB gun, Chase said.

Deering was arrested, and arrangements were made to take him to the Johnson Unit about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Chase said.

About 3:30 a.m., Chase said someone at the unit called him to let him know Deering was being released because he was not a danger.

Chase begs to differ.

The chief said that if Deering had pointed his weapon at officers, he could have been shot and killed.

Chase said he wants information this week about why Deering was released, and what the “written criteria” is for such a release.

“Why someone can be suicidal at one moment, and then be (soon) released back into the community, especially just five month after a Eugene police officer was fatally shot and killed by someone with a history of mental problems.”

Cheryl Dawn Kidd of Springfield is accused of fatally shooting Eugene officer Chris Kilcullen on April 22 during an attempted traffic stop. Lane County Circuit Judge Mary Ann Bearden ordered Kidd transported to the Oregon State Hospital in June, saying she was too mentally ill to stand trial.

No one from PeaceHealth or the Johnson Unit was available for comment Sunday night.

The Johnson Unit is an “acute psychiatric unit (that) provides a safe and healing environment in which to treat people experiencing psychiatric crises,” according to the PeaceHealth website.

The only previous encounter Junction City police have had with Deering was a May 2010 drunken driving arrest, Chase said.