On September 17th, at about 9:00 pm, Roseburg police officers attempted to stop on a white, 2018 Nissan Sentra that was being operated by Jeff Reece (40), of Roseburg, after observing him commit several traffic violations and almost striking two pedestrians as he sped through a stop sign. Reece failed to stop for officers and a vehicle pursuit was initiated but due to Reece's speeds through a neighborhood, the pursuit was terminated. A short time later, officers located Reece stopped in his vehicle in the middle of the Stewart Parkway Bridge.
Officers had prior information Reece was in possession of multiple firearms and Reece refused to exit his vehicle and made threats to shoot himself. Members of the Roseburg Police Department Emergency Response Team, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Response Team and a S.W.A.T. member with the Oregon State Police responded, along with the Roseburg Police Department Hostage Negotiation Team.
After about an hour of negotiation, a less-lethal impact weapon was deployed and DCSO K9 Eros was used to take Reece into custody. While taking Reece into custody, officers located a 9mm handgun concealed in Reece’s pocket. A search warrant was later served on Reece’s vehicle and an additional rifle was recovered.
Reece was evaluated on scene by medics and transported to the Douglas County Jail where he was booked on multiple charges.
The Stewart Parkway Bridge was closed for about two hours and the several civilians who had been initially evacuated from their vehicles were allowed to return. One lane of the bridge was re-opened to allow traffic to flow until officers were able to clear the scene. The bridge was fully opened about four hours after the incident started.
OSP, DCSO, Roseburg FD and Bay Cities Ambulance assisted with this incident.