Man killed by police.

Byline: Andrea Damewood The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield police shot and killed a man Saturday who police said resisted arrest and claimed to have a gun as he advanced on officers in a townhouse while two children watched.

Police said that Scott William Boyko, 37, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. Boyko had fled on foot to the townhouse complex at 5495 A St. around 9:30 a.m., after he was involved in a hit-and-run accident while driving a stolen car, Springfield Police Chief Jerry Smith said.

Boyko was shot after he told officers he had a gun, refused to remove his hands from beneath his shirt and acted like he was about to draw a weapon, Smith said. Officers also tried to stun Boyko with a Taser, which failed. Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad said a preliminary investigation showed that the use of deadly force was justified.

But witnesses said that Boyko, known around the neighborhood as "Uncle Scotty," was a familiar, friendly figure who was not dangerous.

"He never threatened to shoot or hurt anyone, all he was trying to do was get away," said Boyko's girlfriend, Jill Taylor, who was inside the townhouse at the time of the shooting.

Boyko was not armed when he was killed, but a BB gun that resembles a handgun was found in the bedroom, Smith said.

Boyko had run from a wreck at Highway 126 and Main Street in which police said he had crashed a car he allegedly had stolen from the Serbu Juvenile Detention Center in Eugene that morning.

Officers went to the townhouse around 9:40 a.m., after neighbors reported that Boyko might be inside. A baby sitter allowed four officers to search the unit. Boyko was not indoors, so officers moved to the backyard, where they found him hiding in a storage shed.

Boyko said he had a gun and warned officers to get back. He walked back into the townhouse, keeping his hands tucked under his shirt and inside the front waistband of his trousers, Smith said.

Joanna Priest's two children, ages 4 and 7, were inside with a baby sitter, Timothy Wolford, and Boyko's girlfriend. Priest lives in the townhouse but was not home at the time.

Officer Eric Pardee was the only officer in the unit as Boyko entered from the backyard. Boyko advanced on Pardee, who ordered him to show his hands several times, Smith said.

As Pardee retreated down a hallway, another officer came through the front door and fired a Taser stun gun, but Boyko didn't stop. Smith said Boyko then bent down near one of the children, and an officer kicked him away from the child.

Pardee drew his weapon and again ordered Boyko to show his hands, Smith said. Boyko continued to move forward and jerked his arm quickly, prompting Pardee to fire one shot, the chief said.

The bullet hit Boyko in the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Officers are trained to stop the threat, which means hitting the center of mass," Smith said. "(Pardee) was forced into the situation; Mr. Boyko chose what was going to happen."

Pardee, 30, has been with the Springfield Police Department for more than five years. He was placed on administrative leave, pending a full investigation of the shooting, as is routine in such matters.

Townhouse resident Priest was at a football game with an older son in Cottage Grove at the time of the shooting. However, she said she was a close friend of Boyko and finds the official account troubling.

"If he was such a threat, wouldn't they have stopped him in the yard before he got into the house with the kids?" she asked. "When the cops told me he used my daughter as a shield, I was like, `I don't think so.' '

Her 7-year-old daughter told police that Boyko never touched her, Priest said.

Her 4-year-old son told her he heard the gunshot, "And then Uncle Scotty hit the floor, Mommy," Priest recalled as she began to cry.

More than 20 neighbors gathered around the townhouse in the afternoon, yelling at the officers and trying to console one another over the death of a man they call the community's "Robin Hood."

A box of doughnuts Boyko had brought for the children was still on the table of the residence, and neighbors said he recently had bought new shoes for several area children.

Boyko had no real home of his own, Priest said, but he would often come by her place to shower and spend time with her family.

"He looks like a bad guy, but he was such a nice person," Priest said.

Police said that Boyko has a long criminal history that includes previous weapons crimes and assaults on police officers.

Boyko, who has used the name Scott Cobb, was first convicted in California in 1989 on misdemeanor charges of assault on an officer and carrying a loaded firearm, police said. In April, he was charged in Linn County for menacing and resisting arrest. In May, he was charged in Lane County for menacing.

The Oregon State Police, the Lane County District Attorney's Office and an internal review board will conduct a full investigation of the shooting, Smith said.