BEAVERTON, Ore. (KOIN) — A month after being shot by a man in the woods near Hagg Lake, 2 Washington County deputies are recovering, though one of them has a much longer road to go.
It was late in the afternoon on August 8 when Washington County Sheriff’s Corporal Jeremy Braun and Deputy Chris Iverson — along with others — confronted a man wearing camouflage clothing who allegedly stole guns from a house.
Braun and Iverson were shot by the man, later identified as Dante Halling, who was also shot in an exchange of gunfire.
Iverson was treated, released and remains in outpatient physical therapy. Braun is now out of the trauma ward and is currently in a rehabilitation hospital and recovering with his family, said Washington County Deputy Brian Van Kleef.
“It’s going to be a tougher road for Corporal Braun, for sure,” Van Kleef told KOIN 6 News. “He still has a lot to do in terms of recovery. He actually still has to re-learn to swallow. He has to relearn how to walk.”
Braun, a 16-year veteran with the sheriff’s office, was very seriously wounded in the shooting.
“He still has dozens of lead pellets in his neck and lungs, which will be in his body for some time until they naturally kind of work their way out,” Van Kleef said.
Iverson is expected to make a full recovery. “He has damage to his left arm and has some mobility and strength issues and also has some injuries to his left leg,” Van Kleef said. “Otherwisde he’s impressing us with his motivation. He’s inspiring us with his positivity and dedication to get back to full duty.”
Halling spent time in a hospital before being booked on attempted murder charges. He’s expected back in a Washington County court on September 23.
Outpouring of community support
Van Kleef said the past month has been tough physically and emotionally but the love shown by the community has been overwhelming.
“The virtual Facebook Get Well card that we posted on Sunday has over 600 positive, just loving messages from the community,” Van Kleef said. “I think all that support combine with what great guys these are, they’re in fairly good spirits considering what’s happened to them.”
Others in law enforcement made t-shirts with the hashtag #BraunStrong.
“He’s looking really good and it was really encouraging and we’re really happy to see him look so great,” he said.
Braun is re-learning how to walk and “in the photo you can see he’s standing, which is encouraging progress.”
Van Kleef said Braun and Iverson’s recoveries are inspiring.
“These 2 gentlemen went right in to face danger knowing full well something bad could happen and they went anyway. I think that’s what this line of work entails. A lot of the time we have to run towards danger. We have to face danger all in the name of protecting our community.”
The comments from the community are also very helpful and therapeutic.
“I could read these for hours, just going through the comments and seeing the nice things that people have said to Cpl. Braun and Deputy Iverson,” Van Kleef said. “The love, the prayers, the support — it’s really special to see.”
Anyone interested in helping the deputies can donate to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Foundation