Portland man gets 25 years for attempted murder of 3 police officers

A Portland man who fired his gun at three police officers in the aftermath of a

chaotic 2021 traffic stop

was sentenced to 25 years in prison Tuesday.

A Multnomah County jury

convicted Joshua W. Degerness

of three counts of first-degree attempted murder and other charges during a March trial. He represented himself.

A police officer attempted to pull Degerness over on Dec. 11, 2021 but he sped away on Southeast Holgate Boulevard, prompting Officer Kenneth Jackson to ram Degerness’ sedan into a tree near Lents Park, rendering the vehicle inoperable.

Degerness, now 42, refused to surrender and began shouting invective at police, apparently trying to lure them closer. A trio of officers eventually approached the car and deployed pepper spray; in response, Degerness fired twice through the windshield but missed.

Lt. Norman Staples and Sgt. Justin Damerville fired back, striking Degerness in the shoulder. Despite his injuries, he held o

fficers at bay for another two hours

before being taken into custody for treatment at a local hospital.

Officials greeted the

conclusion

of the case Tuesday with applause.

“This is a very dangerous individual and he is where he belongs for the next 25 years,” said District Attorney Nathan Vasquez in a statement. “This case highlights how officers put their lives on the line every day for this community and we thank them for that.”

Degerness had five felony and 11 misdemeanor convictions at the time of his arrest, including for drug charges, ID theft and burglary.

—Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083,

zsparling@oregonian.com

or

@pdxzane

.

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