Three sergeants praised for actions at Pendleton standoff
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, September 6th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Pendleton Police Chief Chuck Byram had words of praise for some sergeants during the standoff at the Super 8 Motel Saturday. Since he and Lt. Tony Nelson were both out of town over the weekend, he said controlling the incident fell to supervising Sgt. Rick Jackson and Patrol Sgt. Roger Youncs.
“They performed wonderfully,” he said. “They called the necessary resources that we needed to include the Oregon State Police SWAT Team because we had a barricaded subject that said he was intent on shooting it out with us.”
The suspect, Ricky Lee Ellison, was wanted on warrants from multiple jurisdictions. Byram said Ellison must have found a key to the car because the vehicle suddenly took off.
“It got a little Western there at the end,” he said. “He went through a fence and down a little cliff. That’s when Umatilla Tribal Police Sgt. Derrick Bingham put his life on the line or at least the threat of significant serious injury, rammed the vehicle so that it rendered it inoperable.”
A short foot pursuit followed, but a K9 stopped the suspect, and he was taken into custody. Byram stressed that no shots were fired, and that Ellison suffered minor injuries as a result of the chase. “Quite honestly, based on his actions, he was lucky to only get what he got,” Byram said.
Byram also praised the Oregon State Police, not just for sending their SWAT Team, but also for answering calls for service in the city during the standoff.
