This story was originally published by the Roseburg News-Review and is used with permission.
A decade after the tragedy at Umpqua Community College, the school is reeling and healing from yet another catastrophic event.
Johnathan James Dowdy is in the custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections for causing the deaths of yet another UCC student, and her coach.
“We all know someone who was impacted,” by the crimes of Oct.1, 2015, said Cheryl McDonald, crisis program director for Adapt Integrated Health Care in Roseburg. “Everyone has some element of trauma.”
“We not only had the victim’s families, it was like the whole community had PTSD,” he told The News-Review.
Fortunately, several neighboring district attorneys sent their own victim advocates to work for Wesenberg in the days immediately after an offender intentionally took the lives of eight students and a teacher.
McDonald, a licensed clinical social worker, spoke also with The News-Review about the date’s remembrance.
“People may be impacted,” by the date, she said. “Anxiety can cause increased arguing in families, which trickles down to kids.”
McDonald encourages anyone with that anxiety to reach out to someone, whether personally or professionally.
The News-Review takes a look back at the Oct. 1, 2015 tragedy; what’s changed, what’s better, and maybe what can get better still.
The immediate responses to the tragedy
“We organized a pretty robust risk assessment team,” said Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin, of one change that’s been implemented since. Hanlin was sheriff in 2015 and continues today.
Risk assessment teams are interagency, multi-disciplinary working groups who meet to exchange information and evaluate potential threats. The first such team in Douglas County was organized around school safety, county-wide.
“That re-energized the risk assessment concept,” said Hanlin, who explained that there is now a second risk-assessment team dedicated to threats outside of schools, such as workplace violence. The two separate teams do have some overlapping personnel and agencies.
“Getting every player to the table is difficult,” said Hanlin of the risk assessment teams. He added, however, that Umpqua Community College is a participant.
So too is Adapt Integrated Health Care, which initially specialized in drug and alcohol treatment but has long since branched out into community and mental health, especially since assuming all public health duties from Douglas County.
As for Hanlin, he referenced the 2015 offender specifically in pointing out a shortcoming in risk assessment.
“States don’t talk to each other, the military doesn’t talk to states, and nobody knows anything,” he cautioned.
The offender 10 years ago had recently moved to Winchester from California, and had very briefly been in the military before that. His lone contact with local law enforcement had been an uneventful field interview, when he had been spotted walking on the railroad tracks.
The legislative reaction to the tragedy
Not much has changed at the state capitol, in terms of the tragedy perpetrated at Umpqua Community College. One exception is the Emergency Response Protective Order (ERPO).
The ERPO was created by the 2017 Oregon State Legislature, and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2018. It’s legislation was Senate Bill 719, nicknamed the “Red Flag Law.”
Every Douglas County legislator voted against it in 2017, according to the legislative record.
ERPOs can be requested from circuit court by a law enforcement officer, or by a relative or household member of a person believed to be at risk. Upon receiving the petition, the court is expected to hold a hearing within 24 hours to decide whether the at-risk person’s firearms should be taken into protective custody.
That at-risk person can then request their own hearing, to be held within 21 days, to show the court they are not a danger in order to get their firearms back. If the ERPO is upheld at that hearing, it is typically in effect for a year.
Hanlin confirmed his office has served some ERPOs. “Seize the firearms for safekeeping until they can be released to someone safe,” or until the at-risk person proves to the court that they are safe, to have any firearms returned.
The Records Division of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported to The News-Review that its office has executed four ERPOs since Jan 1, 2024.
Not much has changed at the federal level either. The federal Firearms Transaction Record, or ATF Form 4473, has undergone few revisions in the past 10 years, none of which appear as though they would have impacted the events of Oct. 1, 2015.
The ATF Form 4473 still includes the question, “Have you ever been adjudicated as a mental defective or have you ever been committed to a mental institution?”
Those terms are defined on the form’s back pages. An adjudication is described as a determination by a court, board, commission or other lawful authority. A commitment to a mental institution does not include a person who is detained only for observation or a voluntary admission.
Hanlin confirmed that the offender 10 years ago had a history which included at least two, and possibly three, suicide attempts among his five hospitalizations for mental health observation. One of those suicide attempts occurred in the military.
Based on that, it does not appear that even if the offender had been honest while purchasing firearms, it likely would not have stopped him from acquiring his arsenal. Nor would it now.
Adapt picks up the slack
“We have some methods to help,” said McDonald.
While the organization supports the desire of its potential clients to maintain their firearms, they try to create some time and space between the person and their firearms during times of crisis.
Adapt Integrated Health Care began its Mobile Crisis program eight years ago, and as of 2023 its crisis workers are in the field 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“We co-respond with law enforcement, but 70% of our calls we do alone,” said McDonald.
In calls involving firearms, they co-respond with law enforcement, she confirmed.
“We are looking to safety-plan,” which includes providing the patient and their family with gun safes and biometric locks. Or, “Can we help the family secure the ammunition?”
Meanwhile, they’ll try to engage that potential patient in Adapt’s services.
“Historically it’s been difficult to force someone into treatment,” unless there is an imminent danger, said McDonald. In cases of imminent danger, Adapt’s crisis workers may be able to detain someone under the “Director’s Authority” of a public health department.
That authority is similar to the civil arrests made by law enforcement, McDonald confirmed. Currently, however, “We have to see evidence with our own eyes,” unlike law enforcement, which can make similar detentions based essentially on probable cause.
According to McDonald, that may change. There are reportedly conversation at the state level which would essentially create a rule revision. “Anticipate that they will become an imminent danger,” is how McDonald described the increased authority that crisis workers will possess if those changes are made.
Meanwhile, “All of our teams are trained to do a lethality assessment, or a risk assessment,” which McDonald confirmed are similar to one another with subtle differences in determining how imminent an at-risk person’s danger may be.
Hope for the future
“Our prevention team is very good about going to the schools,” said Samar Farooqui, public relations specialist for Adapt Integrated Health Care.
As opposed to 10 years ago, there is more support and emotional tools being provided to young students, she explained.
Although the emergency room is still the only place, other than jail, to take someone at imminent risk, Mercy Medical Center now has a 12-bed Behavioral Health Unit for those patients they need to keep under observation, according to McDonald.
At Umpqua Community College, Hanlin entered into a contract to provide the campus with a dedicated sheriff’s deputy. Although that position is currently open due to staffing issues, Hanlin found a solution.
The head of security for Umpqua Community College is a retired law enforcement officer, and one of Hanlin’s former deputies. Based on that, Hanlin has sworn him as a special deputy.
“In the event he’s got to do something ‘right now’ he’s got that ability and authority,” Hanlin said.
“The college has beefed up its security,” said Hanlin of the part-time employees working for his special deputy. Still, “I think both the (college) president and I are in agreement on the value of a resource officer out there.”
Hanlin intends to staff the position again once he has the necessary personnel, or if the college decides to fund it.
As long as I’m here we will make school safety a priority. In this age we can’t walk away from school safety,” he added.
In terms of the aftercare of a traumatic event, McDonald said most of the schools and large businesses of which she’s aware, have a plan for that.
“Smaller businesses, and churches, who don’t have a plan, can start thinking about whom to reach out to in the event of a traumatic experience,” she suggested.
Patrick Moore is a reporter for The News-Review.
