Oregon City officer cleared by grand jury for shooting ex-Canby cop during standoff in May

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An Oregon City police officer was cleared by a grand jury for using deadly force against an armed man last month, authorities said.

According to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office, 58-year-old Scott Alan Farmer shot at Oregon City Police Officer Sydney Oden, who then fired back and struck Farmer in the hip. Farmer later shot himself amid police officers’ response to the incident on May 16.

Farmer worked as a Canby Police Department sergeant from 2002-2022. He also worked for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office from 2000-2002.

Four Oregon City Police officers and three Clackamas County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene, with some of the officers having been former colleagues of Farmer.

The incident began when Farmer called the police non-emergency in the early morning on May 16, saying he was going to kill himself, though he didn’t didn’t identify himself at the time, the Clackamas County DA’s Office said.

Police arrived to the home at 13309 Clairmont Way shortly after the call as Farmer’s wife called 911 to say he was outside with a loaded handgun. She said he was intoxicated and claimed he was suicidal and wanted to die via “suicide by cop.”

Farmer’s wife was escorted to a safe location by officers.

Police were making plans to de-escalate when Farmer left his house and started walking down the street toward officers.

“Farmer ignored police commands to take his hands out of his pockets, then pulled out a handgun and shot at Oregon City Officer Sydney Oden who returned fire, hitting Farmer in the hip,” the Clackamas County DA’s Office said. “The investigation concluded that Farmer fired five times and Oden shot four times.”

While he was on the ground, Farmer asked officers who he shot at. When they told him her name was Sydney, he replied, “I’m sorry,” according to court documents.

“Officers gave commands to Farmer as he lay on the ground and urged him to drop his gun,” the DA’s office said.

Farmer repeated, “get away from me,” and continued to refuse to drop the gun before shooting himself, dying at the scene, officials said.

After the incident, Officer Oden was placed on critical incident leave, per police policy.