By Jim Ryan
The Oregonian
FLORENCE, Ore. — Two officers were “seriously assaulted” Monday in an altercation with a man they were trying to release from the Florence jail, and the man who assaulted them later died at a hospital, an official said.
Lt. Cari Boyd, an Oregon State Police spokeswoman, said troopers and other officers were called to the jail around 9 a.m. and found two officers had been assaulted while trying to release the 40-year-old man from custody.
He “became non-responsive” as medics arrived to treat the officers, Boyd said in a news release. They began tending to him, and he was later pronounced dead at PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center in Florence.
The officers were also taken to a hospital. Boyd declined to say what agency employs the officers who were injured.
A corrections officer staffs the jail and also works as the Florence Municipal Court bailiff, according to the city’s website.
The Oregon State Police Criminal Division is helping investigate. The state police didn’t release any additional information Monday.
———
©2017 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)