Police body camera footage shows moments leading up to fatal police shooting

A Hillsboro police officer was “clearly justified” in shooting and killing a man last October in the parking lot of a police precinct, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office said Monday after completing its investigation. In a three-page letter to the chief of police, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Lesowski detailed the events outside the Hillsboro Police Department’s West Precinct the night of Oct. 21, 2019 that led to Officer Bobby Voth opening fire and killing 39-year-old Jason Livengood of Camas, Washington. According to the DA’s office, Livengood had followed another man, 35-year-old Flugencio Osornio-Ambriz, for 42 miles from Washington into Oregon. Osornio-Ambriz told investigators that he noticed Livengood following him after he left his Camas jobsite. He drove into Oregon and became frightened when Livengood began tailgating him and making aggressive lane changes to keep up with him. Fearful Livengood would follow him home, Osornio-Ambriz pulled into the Hillsboro police station’s west precinct parking lot to seek help. He contacted city employees, who in turn alerted Voth to the situation. While Voth spoke to Livengood and Osornio-Ambriz in an effort to figure out what was going on, “Livengood stood next to the building, mute, staring straight ahead but looking at Osornio-Ambriz out of the corner of his eye,” Lesowski wrote. Voth also noticed that Livengood had a handgun tucked under his left arm with its “hammer pulled back.” Voth told Osornio-Ambriz to go back to where he had parked. Livengood began to follow. Voth tried to stop him, but Livengood kept trying to get to Osornio-Ambriz. A struggle ensued between Voth and Livengood. Livengood broke free and had a “clear path” to Osornio-Ambriz. Voth opened fire, hitting Livengood in the back. The DA’s office said Voth’s body camera corroborated what he and Osornio-Ambriz told investigators. Lesowski wrote in his letter that investigators had learned that several of Livengood’s family members had recently died and he was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder after a car accident. His girlfriend told investigators that Livengood left home that night to go to the grocery store saying, “I think it’s almost time for me to go home.” His girlfriend interpreted that to mean he was going to see God.