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Becky Dietzel

Age : 64

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 07/28/2021

Location : River Road North and Cummings Lane North

City : Keizer

County : Marion

State : Oregon

Agency : Keizer Police Department (KPD)

Officer(s) :Sergeant Kevin DeMarco, Officers Scott Keniston, Michael Kowash, Jeremy Darst, Chad Fahey, Cody Stupfel

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Pedestrian bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Stolen vehicle and gunfire directed at police. At approximately 8:30 p.m., Keizer Police Department officers responded to a report of a suspicious Nissan Xterra parked behind VCA Keizer Veterinary Hospital at 4815 River Road North. Officers confirmed that the Xterra had been reported stolen earlier that day and saw a man later identified as Sean K. Beck with a handgun on his hip. According to prosecutors, Beck entered the driver's seat, police repeatedly ordered him to surrender, and Beck opened fire toward officers. Five Keizer officers returned fire, striking Beck multiple times. Beck then drove south on River Road while Keizer police pursued with emergency lights and sirens.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/28/2021, 64-year-old Becky Dietzel of Salem was killed while walking across River Road North at Cummings Lane in Keizer when a stolen Nissan Xterra driven by Sean K. Beck struck and ran over her during a Keizer Police Department pursuit. Dietzel had no connection to Beck, the stolen vehicle, the police shooting or the pursuit.
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The encounter began after a woman reported that her Nissan Xterra and three firearms—a Glock pistol, an AR-15 and a .338 Lapua Magnum rifle—had been stolen. Later that evening, another person reported seeing the stolen Xterra behind the VCA Keizer Veterinary Hospital and a man standing near it with a handgun on his hip. Keizer police responded and contacted two men near the vehicle.
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Police identified the armed man as Beck. According to the Marion County District Attorney's Office, officers repeatedly ordered Beck to surrender. Police alleged that Beck then opened fire toward them, and officers returned fire. The second man remained at the scene and cooperated with police. Beck, despite suffering multiple gunshot wounds, drove the stolen Xterra out of the parking area and south on River Road. Keizer officers pursued him with lights and sirens.
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Witness Rachel Washburn described hearing successive bursts of gunfire and then seeing the fleeing vehicle pass her home with a police officer immediately behind it. The pursuit continued south on River Road toward the intersection with Cummings Lane.
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Dietzel was walking across River Road in the marked crossing area at Cummings Lane. Witness Kenny Blount reported that the traffic signal was red for through traffic as Dietzel crossed. According to prosecutors, Beck entered the intersection at a high rate of speed against the red light and struck and ran over Dietzel.
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Blount stopped and retrieved a military first-aid kit after seeing Dietzel struck. He reached her within moments but found her unresponsive. Dietzel was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Beck continued south without stopping. Keizer police continued pursuing him into Salem, where Salem Police Department officers joined the response. The pursuit traveled onto Northeast Cherry Avenue toward the Home Depot near Salem Parkway.
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Salem Police Corporal Matthew Groat used a PIT maneuver to force Beck's Xterra to stop near the Home Depot on Cherry Avenue. The encounter then developed into an approximately 20-minute standoff. Police fired another shot during the confrontation before Beck ultimately surrendered. He was transported to Salem Hospital for treatment of multiple gunshot wounds.
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The publicly released accounts describe Beck traveling at a high rate of speed when he killed Dietzel but do not provide a measured pursuit speed or complete pursuit-speed reconstruction. No stop sticks were reported. The documented police vehicle-intervention tactic was Groat's PIT maneuver, which occurred later in Salem after Dietzel had already been killed.
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Dash-camera recordings subsequently released by the Marion County District Attorney's Office documented the initial gunfire, police pursuit and later police actions. The recordings were released publicly in connection with Beck's criminal case.
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Dietzel was born on 08/15/1956 and was 64 years old when she died. Her death resonated locally beyond the initial crime reporting: community members held a candlelight vigil in her memory on 08/02/2021. Keizer Police Chief John Teague publicly described Dietzel's death as the greatest tragedy of the entire incident.
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The Oregon State Police led the investigation under Oregon's officer-use-of-deadly-force protocol. The investigation identified six Keizer officers connected to the incident: Sgt. Kevin DeMarco and Officers Scott Keniston, Michael Kowash, Jeremy Darst, Chad Fahey and Cody Stupfel. Five—DeMarco, Keniston, Kowash, Darst and Fahey—were subsequently identified as officers whose use of deadly force was reviewed by a Marion County grand jury.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Sgt. Kevin DeMarco and Officers Scott Keniston, Michael Kowash, Jeremy Darst, Chad Fahey and Cody Stupfel were identified by Oregon State Police as the Keizer officers placed on administrative leave following the encounter. A Marion County grand jury subsequently reviewed the gunfire by DeMarco, Keniston, Kowash, Darst and Fahey and unanimously found their use of deadly force against Beck justified. Stupfel was identified as an involved officer but was not among the five officers named in the grand jury's deadly-force clearance.
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Salem Police Corporal Matthew Groat joined the pursuit after it entered Salem and performed the PIT maneuver that stopped Beck's Xterra near Home Depot.
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DeMarco, Keniston, Kowash, Darst, Fahey and Stupfel were later awarded the Keizer Police Department Medal of Valor for their actions during the 07/28/2021 encounter.
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DISPOSITION:
A Marion County grand jury unanimously found that DeMarco, Keniston, Kowash, Darst and Fahey were justified in using deadly force against Beck. No officer was criminally charged in connection with the encounter or Dietzel's death.
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Beck ultimately pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for killing Dietzel, five counts of unlawful use of a weapon, three counts of felon in possession of a firearm and driving under the influence. On 07/20/2023, Marion County Circuit Court Judge Channing Bennett sentenced Beck to 205 months—17 years and one month—in prison, followed by 17 years of post-prison supervision. The court ordered more than $23,000 in restitution to Dietzel's family and permanently revoked Beck's driver's license. Other charges, including attempted aggravated murder, fleeing police and unauthorized use of a vehicle, were dismissed under the plea agreement.
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A hospital blood draw following Beck's arrest measured his blood-alcohol concentration at .35. Investigators recovered the three stolen firearms from the Xterra. Those facts were established after the pursuit and were not the initiating reason police pursued him; the pursuit began after the encounter with the stolen vehicle and the alleged exchange of gunfire with police.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/police-investigation-forces-hours-long-closure-of-salem-street/283-151d14f5-dba0-49d9-b834-152535e82ff6
https://www.keizertimes.com/2021/07/31/man-charged-for-rampage-through-keizer-pedestrian-killed-is-identified/
https://www.salemreporter.com/2021/07/31/man-charged-for-rampage-through-keizer-pedestrian-killed-is-identified/
https://www.keizertimes.com/2021/07/29/update-keizer-police-officers-involved-in-shooting/
https://www.salemreporter.com/?p=17532
https://flashalert.net/id/MCDA/147500
https://www.keizertimes.com/2021/08/09/5-keizer-officers-cleared-in-shooting-suspect-sean-beck-indicted/
https://flashalert.net/id/MCDA/165170
https://www.keizertimes.com/2023/07/21/silverton-man-sentenced-to-17-years-for-keizer-rampage-that-killed-pedestrian/
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn00063621/2021-08-06/ed-1/seq-2/ocr/
https://www.keizertimes.com/2023/11/22/six-honored-for-valor/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAKKDsG7Kks