PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man known to authorities who previously mentioned “suicide by cop” was shot to death by law enforcement in Bandon.
Robert Charles Foster, 65, was killed after an hours-long standoff in a field behind the Faith Baptist Church in Bandon Saturday afternoon. The incident began when Foster called 911 and said he had explosives and planned to set off an explosion near South Highway 101, the Coos County District Attorney’s Office said in a release.
Foster was spotted in a pickup truck about 100 yards behind the church around 11:30 a.m. Police and deputies who responded were able to talk with him by cell phone and could see he had a shotgun.
One of Foster’s acquaintances told authorities Foster said he had milk jugs filled with gasoline plus a full propane tank in the back of the truck. A drone spotted the milk jugs and a plastic trash can with the propane tank.
Despite several hours of negotiating, Foster refused to surrender.
“Come and kill me,” he yelled at one point, the DA’s office said.
Shortly before 4 p.m., he got out of his truck, pointed the shotgun at the law enforcement who were at the scene, then fired once. Six officers returned fire — 2 each from the Oregon State Police and the Coos County Sheriff’s Office, 1 each from the Coquille and North Bend police departments.
Foster died at the scene.
On October 11, officials said, he tried to commit suicide by hanging himself with a rope and jumping off the Coquille River Bridge. But he was tackled by police before he could jump. He was taken for a mental health evaluation and later reports indicated he thought about suicide and “suicide by cop.”
The officers involved are on paid administrative leave pending the investigation, which is being led by the Coos Bay Police Department.