Joy Braun, Jeremy Braun, and Sheriff Pat Garrett on Thursday, February 6, 2020. Photo: Chas Hundley//Banks Post
HILLSBORO – One year ago today, law enforcement agencies descended on a home near Hagg Lake on reports of theft of a firearm.
In the ensuing gunfight, two Washington County Sheriff’s Officers were shot; Cpl. Jeremy Braun and deputy Chris Iverson. While Iverson was able to resume duties shortly after the incident, Braun would face — and continues to face — a long path to recovery.
In a 22-minute video update released by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Braun, who grew up in Banks, answers a series of questions about his health, his recovery, how his colleagues and the community have responded to his injuries and recovery, and more.
“My family and I are working through the adjustment period. And that’s really what this adjustment – that’s really what the last year has been. It’s been an adjustment of what capabilities do I have, what capabilities do I not have, and then, as they came back or didn’t come back, what those new abilities allowed me to do,” Braun said at the beginning of the video.
Officers with multiple agencies and the interagency Washington County Tactical Negotiation Team — commonly known as a SWAT team — responded to reports of a theft of a firearm on August 8, 2019. They entered a wooded area to search for the suspect when Iverson and Braun were allegedly shot by Dante James Halling, 55 years old at the time of the shooting.
Halling was struck by gunfire, and, after a hospital stay, booked into jail on a slew of charges in relation to the shooting and unrelated parole and probation violations in connection to a previous attempted assault charge.
As members of TNT searched the suspect’s last known location in a wooded area, the suspect opened fire on them, striking Iverson and Braun. Multiple TNT members returned fire, injuring Halling, who surrendered.
While Iverson was able to return to work, Braun would remain in the hospital before being discharged with a long road to recovery ahead of him. In the August 8 2020 video update, Braun said that he was able to return to work less than 10 months after the shooting.
More than 150 shotgun pellets entered Braun’s body after he was shot in the neck and left arm, with his carotid artery and jugular veins both punctured. His left vocal cord was paralyzed, and Braun had to relearn to talk after the shooting.
We rely on subscribers to keep the lights on at the Banks Post. Support us with a digital subscription: Click here to start
He says that some of the pellets that entered his body will remain with him forever.
About 25 pellets have been removed from his body in one fashion or another.
Braun credits many for saving his life, from the first responders that treated him, the pilot that flew him to the hospital, the doctors and nurses that kept him alive through his severe injuries, and his wife, family and community.
According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Braun is expected to be promoted to Sergeant on September 5.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
