SALEM, OR - A special meeting was held by the Salem City Council following backlash over the appointment of a convicted murderer to two public safety review boards over the last few years.
During the meeting, the Salem City Council decided to expand background checks for board and commission applicants, ultimately removing Kyle Hedquist, a convicted murderer, from his role on the Community Police Review Board and Civil Service Commission, KPTV reported.
Weeks of public outrage mounted to calls for the removal of Hedquist, with many in the community wanting answers as to how the council got here in the first place. "To constantly ask for that gratification from the public, if he needs so badly a sorry, he needs to find that with himself," one speaker said.
"This isn't just a lapse of judgment, it's a betrayal of the values you campaign on," another speaker said. During the special city council meeting, some attendees expressed disappointment in the council and called their judgment into question regarding having Hedquist on the city's Community Police Review Board and Civil Service Commission.
Hedquist was present at the meeting and pleaded to the room that he deserved to stay on the two boards. "I can never give enough, serve enough, or do enough to equal the life that I took; that debt is unpayable," he said.
In 1995, Hedquist was convicted of murdering a teenage girl named Nikki Thrasher. He was sentenced to life without parole, but in 2023, his sentence was commuted by former Governor Kate Brown. At his trial, prosecutors said that he led Thrasher down a remote road and shot her in the back of the head to prevent her from telling people about a burglary spree he had embarked on, the DailyMail reported.
He was released 28 years into his sentence. Then-Governor Brown argued that his time should be commuted because he was 17 when he murdered Thrasher, which means "he shouldn't be locked up for life."
Attendants vouched for his character at the meeting. "He showed me how it is to be human in a non-human place," said a friend of Hedquist.
The council confirmed that Hedquist was appointed to the Community Police Review Board in May 2024 without a background check, then reappointed in December, and appointed to the Civil Service Commission as well.
That all changed at the meeting when the council decided to conduct background checks for both boards, disqualify anyone with a violent felony, and reserve a spot for one victim of a felony crime for the Community Police Review Board — reminding everyone of victim Nikki Thrasher, who cannot be here to be on the board.
"This is Nikki Thrasher," said Councilor Deanna Gwyn, showing a picture of the girl. "Release from prison is not the same as restoration of moral authority."
The council ultimately decided to reconsider his re-appointment to the Community Police Review Board and withdrew his appointment to the Civil Service Commission. However, one councilor who voted against both motions said the council's decision will affect this community.
"He may be off those boards by tonight, but our community is still broken, the damage has been done, elected officials' lives have been on the line, threats have been given to us, that can't be undone," said Councilor Dr. Irvin M. Brown.
During the meeting, the Salem City Council decided to expand background checks for board and commission applicants, ultimately removing Kyle Hedquist, a convicted murderer, from his role on the Community Police Review Board and Civil Service Commission, KPTV reported.
Weeks of public outrage mounted to calls for the removal of Hedquist, with many in the community wanting answers as to how the council got here in the first place. "To constantly ask for that gratification from the public, if he needs so badly a sorry, he needs to find that with himself," one speaker said.
"This isn't just a lapse of judgment, it's a betrayal of the values you campaign on," another speaker said. During the special city council meeting, some attendees expressed disappointment in the council and called their judgment into question regarding having Hedquist on the city's Community Police Review Board and Civil Service Commission.
Hedquist was present at the meeting and pleaded to the room that he deserved to stay on the two boards. "I can never give enough, serve enough, or do enough to equal the life that I took; that debt is unpayable," he said.
In 1995, Hedquist was convicted of murdering a teenage girl named Nikki Thrasher. He was sentenced to life without parole, but in 2023, his sentence was commuted by former Governor Kate Brown. At his trial, prosecutors said that he led Thrasher down a remote road and shot her in the back of the head to prevent her from telling people about a burglary spree he had embarked on, the DailyMail reported.
He was released 28 years into his sentence. Then-Governor Brown argued that his time should be commuted because he was 17 when he murdered Thrasher, which means "he shouldn't be locked up for life."
Attendants vouched for his character at the meeting. "He showed me how it is to be human in a non-human place," said a friend of Hedquist.
The council confirmed that Hedquist was appointed to the Community Police Review Board in May 2024 without a background check, then reappointed in December, and appointed to the Civil Service Commission as well.
That all changed at the meeting when the council decided to conduct background checks for both boards, disqualify anyone with a violent felony, and reserve a spot for one victim of a felony crime for the Community Police Review Board — reminding everyone of victim Nikki Thrasher, who cannot be here to be on the board.
"This is Nikki Thrasher," said Councilor Deanna Gwyn, showing a picture of the girl. "Release from prison is not the same as restoration of moral authority."
The council ultimately decided to reconsider his re-appointment to the Community Police Review Board and withdrew his appointment to the Civil Service Commission. However, one councilor who voted against both motions said the council's decision will affect this community.
"He may be off those boards by tonight, but our community is still broken, the damage has been done, elected officials' lives have been on the line, threats have been given to us, that can't be undone," said Councilor Dr. Irvin M. Brown.
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