Ore. search for man who shot cop

WALDPORT, Ore. - A man hunted by rifle-toting, camouflaged police on the Oregon coast has been charged with attempted aggravated murder in Sunday night's shooting of a police officer.

Police are in their second full day of searching for David Anthony Durham, accused of critically wounding Lincoln City Officer Steven Dodds during a traffic stop near Lincoln City, before fleeing into a wooded area.

Oregon State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings said yesterday that the Lincoln County district attorney has filed charges, including attempted aggravated murder, attempted murder, first-degree assault and eluding police officers against Durham.

Hastings said that Dodds remains hospitalized in critical condition but is showing alertness.

The manhunt began when Durham, 43, of Portland, fled a police chase and escaped into the woods on the peninsula that juts into the Alsea Bay, stretching for about a mile at its widest point. The manhunt has created a scene befitting the first "Rambo" movie as lawmen scoured the wilderness of a small town the Pacific Northwest town for a long-haired suspect.

Newport Police Chief Mark Miranda said Durham is considered armed and dangerous and may be accompanied by his 40-pound, black and white dog named Huckleberry.

"He's out there hiding somewhere," said Waldport city manager Nancy Leonard. "There's a lot of forested area, it's very easy to lose yourself."

Meanwhile, Dodds is in critical condition at a Portland hospital.

Police have video from his patrol car camera of the Sunday night attack and describe how Dodds pulled over the pickup owned by the suspect because the driver was speeding. But they haven't described the circumstances that led to the officer being shot multiple times.

Half an hour after the attack, other officers caught up with the suspect and stopped his truck with spike strips in Newport, about 14 miles north of Waldport, population 2,145.

The suspect fired shots at police, ran into a wooded area and also shot at a crab fisherman on a boat in Alsea Bay.

Durham, who lives on rural Sauvie Island in Portland, was a well-liked volunteer firefighter, according to friends and neighbors. They told KGW-TV in Portland that Durham was an avid landscaper and a helpful neighbor who just recently started to act erratically.

"He's been talking about talking to an alien who's been telling him what to do. He's convinced the police are going to come and get him.

He's packed his bags and he's ready to go in case Armageddon happens," said neighbor Nancy Meyer.

She also said that Durham was taking pills for pain and depression and was especially distraught over a recent breakup with his girlfriend.

Durham was moved to "inactive service" as a firefighter six months ago, due to "unspecified emotional problems," according to Sauvie Island Fire District Chief Norvin Collins.