A convicted murderer, who shot and killed a 19-year-old girl, has ignited public outrage after being reinstated on the city’s police review board.
Kyle Hedquist, now 47, received a life sentence without parole for the 1994 murder of Nikki Thrasher.
Hailing from Oregon, Hedquist led Thrasher to a deserted road where he fatally shot her in the head to stop her from revealing his involvement in a series of burglaries.
In 2022, Hedquist was released from prison after former Governor Kate Brown contended that since he was only 17 at the time of the crime, he shouldn’t be imprisoned for life.
Despite his 27-year incarceration for the cold-blooded murder, the Salem City Council voted five-to-four to reappoint Hedquist on December 8.
This Board is responsible for reviewing complaints about police conduct and offering policy recommendations to law enforcement.
The 47-year-old was also appointed to the Citizens Advisory Traffic Commission and the Civil Service Commission, an advisory board that oversees traffic and fair employment issues, per KATU2.
Kyle Hedquist, 47, is facing scrutiny after he was reappointed back onto Salem’s police oversight board
Ward 6 City Councilor Mai Vang, left, speaks during a city council meeting, she believes Hedquist deserves a second chance and overrides the recommendation to leave the seat vacant
Board members also train with police and participate in ride-alongs to understand how officers operate.
Backlash has erupted in the blue-state city, with rising concerns voiced by the Salem Police Employees Union and other council members.
‘To think that we’re providing education on kind of how we do what we do to someone with that criminal history, it just doesn’t seem too smart,’ Salem Police Employees Union President Scotty Nowning told KATU2.
Nowning emphasized that the concerns stem from fixing the city’s oversight structure and are not necessarily about Hedquist.
‘If you move him off there, if you don’t change your guardrails or what the requirements are to be on there, you could just put someone else on there with you know equal criminal history or worse,’ he told the outlet.
Salem Professional Fire Fighters Local 314 even created a website to slam the decision.
‘As police and fire professionals in the Salem community, we are asking Salem residents to stand with us,’ their website read in part.
‘Tell [the council] to reconsider this decision and fix the mess that they created.’
Other committee members argued against Hedquist’s reappointment, but despite this, Councilor Mai Vang allowed it.
Past Governor Brown Brown defending granting clemency to dozens of people, including Hedquist
Kyle Hedquist killed Nikki Thrasher when he was 17 in 1994. He led the teenager down a remote logging road, then shot her in the back of the head because he feared she might tell police about burglaries he committed
Vang said the 47-year-old ‘brings a perspective that most of us don’t have’ and can bring a unique angle to the community.
Vang defended Hedquist’s prior year of service, saying he has fulfilled his duties without issue and offers a perspective not represented elsewhere on the board.
‘As someone who’s been through the criminal justice system, he understands community safety from a different angle. He’s one voice among nine — he’s not running the show, but his experience matters,’ her Facebook post read.
Vang also said the city can waive the rule about the police ride-along requirement since he is ineligible because of his murder felony.
Emphasizing that she ‘believes people can change,’ Vang said, ‘ Kyle’s recent work shows he’s genuine about turning his life around and using his experience to help others.
‘And honestly? If any of us needed a second chance, we’d want the same consideration.’
Hedquist attended the meeting with his wife, per Statesman Journal, and expressed his gratitude for the council’s decision.
‘I felt like the things that some of the councilor said were just as important or more important than reappointing me,’ he said, per the outlet.
The Salem city council hosts a meeting in Loucks Auditorium at the Salem Public Library
‘It does point to who’s on these boards. How are people getting vetted … and are they balanced? I think that was a good conversation for them to have.’
Supporters also commended Hedquist for his work and involvement with the Oregon Justice Resource Center, where he works as a policy advocate.
The organization highlighted his rehabilitation and told Fox News Digital that Hedquist is ‘driven to help improve Salem and contribute any way he can to his city.’
Past Governor Brown freed Hedquist in 2022 and infuriated Thrasher’s mom, as well as local police and prosecutors, who’ve accused the Democrat governor of undermining public safety.
‘He took the life of my daughter in cold blood. It was a cold-blooded murder. He planned it,’ Holly Thrasher, who wasn’t even aware of Hedquist’s clemency, told KOIN 6 at the time.
‘I am upset. I wasn’t even told.’
She also said she was never asked her opinion on his release, despite Brown’s statement about ‘always’ reaching out to victim’s families so that the ‘victim can have a voice.’
Local law enforcement officers called the early release decision at the time ‘shocking and irresponsible.’
