The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office today named Dpty. Brian Lister, a former Molalla Police Department reserve officer, as the deputy who fatally shot 31-year-old Aaron Damien Ganon after an armed confrontation in Clackamas last Saturday.
Witnesses called at about 11 p.m. to report that Ganon was armed with a gun at his estranged wife’s apartment in the Twin Creek Apartments on Southeast Sunnyside Road in Clackamas.
Upon responding to the scene, CCSO spokesperson Det. Jim Strovink said, patrol units saw the suspect’s vehicle leaving the parking lot. After a brief pursuit involving multiple CCSO patrol cars, the vehicle pulled into the parking lot of Sunrise Middle School, where it spun and came to a stop.
Strovink said that Lister pulled up along side Ganon’s vehicle, at which point, Ganon pulled out his gun and pointed it at the deputy.
“(Lister) didn’t have time to articulate or reason with this guy,” Strovink said. “… There was just an eminent threat.”
At that point, Lister discharged his gun. Although an AMR ambulance was disptached, Ganon died at the scene, according to a CCSO release. The Oregon Medical Examiners Office determined the cause of death to be two gunshot wounds to the head.
Ganon had no previous criminal record but according to Strovink, had made at least three suicide attempts in the past. He had been transported to a Portland hospital by a CCSO deputy on Jan. 22 after a mental health-related incident.
As dictated by CCSO’s policies regarding officer-involved shootings, Lister was placed on paid administrative leave. Strovink said the sheriff’s office concluded its interviews of the involved parties yesterday and will pass the information, along with crime scene data and autopsy results, on to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office.
Lister, hired by CCSO in January of 2007 was a deputy in good standing, Strovink said. He worked as on officer for the Seaside Police Department from May of 2003 until he came to work for CCSO.
Prior to that, he had been an active reserve officer for Molalla Police Department from December of 1998 to May of 2003.
Strovink said that as a new hire, Lister had successfully participated in a 40-hour block of training on dealing with people exhibiting mental health issues.
— Abby Sewell
