By Everton Bailey Jr.
The Oregonian
PORTLAND, Ore. — A state trooper shot several times on Christmas Day stood on his feet for the first time since the deadly confrontation with a murder suspect, his brother said Friday.
Trooper Nic Cederberg is scheduled to begin rehabilitation in a few weeks but decided Thursday that he wanted to do some work in advance to try to speed his recovery, brother Jeff Cederberg wrote on the trooper’s GoFundMe donation page.
The trooper has both of his arms in casts and took an hour to position himself to prepare for standing, his brother wrote. He stood halfway up and then sat back down.
“The result of that small victory sapped him of every ounce of energy he had,” Jeff Cederberg wrote. He said his brother planned to try to stand again Friday.
People have contributed more than $70,000 to the fundraiser since it was created Dec. 27. He has medical coverage and will receive workers’ compensation, his brother said, so the gofundme money will allow him more time to heal and rest.
Nic Cederberg, an Army veteran and seven-year trooper, was shot several times by homicide suspect James Tylka on Dec. 25.
Other officers killed Tylka, 30, after he shot his estranged wife, Katelynn Armand, in King City, Washington County sheriff’s officials said. The shootout happened when officers chased Tylka to an area south of Sherwood.
Tylka shot his wife outside his parents’ home, where he was living, after she dropped off their 11-month-old daughter for a visit, the sheriff’s office said.
According to Jeff Cederberg, the trooper was engaged in a close-range gun fight with Tylka alone for several minutes before backup arrived.
Police haven’t said how many times or where Cederberg was shot or elaborated on the extent of his injuries.
The five other officers who fired at Tylka remain on standard paid administrative leave as an investigation continues. They have been identified as Hillsboro police officer Anthony Cristofaro, Tualatin police officer Eli Sanders, and Sherwood police officers Stan Smith, Joe Twigg and Chris Pierce.