Cop Hired Amid Fatal Tigard Shooting Probe Fired

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former Tigard police officer who shot and killed Jacob Macduff in January has been fired from his new job with the Port of Portland Police.

Port of Portland spokesperson Kama Simonds told Oregon Public Broadcasting that Officer Gabriel Maldonado is not eligible for employment at the Port as he is under active investigation.

She said the Port regrets that the status of the investigation wasn’t brought to light during their hiring process.

"If we had known the Washington County investigation was open, we would not have offered him the position,” Simonds said.

Maldonado started at the Port of Portland on April 19, four days after resigning from the Tigard Police Department. At the time, the Washington County District Attorney had not completed its investigation into the Macduff shooting.

OPB first reported Maldonado in April that he had started his new job while under investigation and he was placed on leave until his termination Wednesday.

Newly obtained records by OPB show the Port of Portland was directly told the investigation had cleared Maldonado.

Earlier this month, Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton said his office would give the Macduff shooting investigation to the Oregon Department of Justice, leaving a charging decision up to the state.

A spokesperson for Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said her office received the case files last week and had not yet made a decision in the case.

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