OSP Fish and Wildlife Trooper Hurt

[nwsteelheader]

Saw this posted on oregonlive. Makes me wonder what they were looking at/for????

I hope he is doing well - 30 feet is long way to fall :shocked:

shawn


Tuesday, May 30, 2006

OSP trooper hurt in fall from tree
By BOAZ HERZOG

An Oregon State Police trooper was injured Tuesday morning after he fell out of a tree along the North Umpqua River in Douglas County during an ongoing investigation, police said.

Senior Trooper Don Frerichs, who works out of the agency’s Fish & Wildlife division in Roseburg, fell about 30 feet, said Lt. Gregg Hastings, an Oregon State Police spokesman. Another Fish & Wildlife officer witnessed the fall and
called for help. Frerichs was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, then flown by Life Flight helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center in Portland. He was in stable condition Tuesday evening, Hastings said.

Hastings declined to release other details, concerned that they might compromise the investigation.

[Bait O' Eggs]

30 feet up a tree I can only imagine what he was trying to see

I bet his buddies at work will give him a hard time over that for years to come

I am sure a policy is being written right now, and a bunch of officers will be going to tree climbing school soon

[Salmo trutta]

What they do is climb up trees so they can watch fishermen down on the river. I seen this near the Rock Creek hole on the N. Umpqua above Glide.

[Straydog]

It's springer snagging time at the narrows and around Rock Creek......... I hope they tag a bunch of snaggers!
I also hope the trooper is not hurt too badly.

[Lund]

He could of been killed for trying to bust a guy snagging a fish. He should be placed on unpaid administartive leave for being such an idiot. Our tax dollars are paying for his careless attempts to bust a snagger. I dont think his life is worth the ticket. Some of those guys can't wait to write a ticket even if it's bogus. Some do a great job, but lots of OSP are culls behind a badge, that abuse power. IMHO

[Drakeblake]

Sounds like you have some experience in the area, Kevin.

-blake

[TheRogue]

He could of been killed for trying to bust a guy snagging a fish. He should be placed on unpaid administartive leave for being such an idiot. Our tax dollars are paying for his careless attempts to bust a snagger. I dont think his life is worth the ticket. Some of those guys can't wait to write a ticket even if it's bogus. Some do a great job, but lots of OSP are culls behind a badge, that abuse power. IMHO

To me, that's a BS post, you're insinuating that most OSP are culls? :whazzup: :whazzup: :whazzup:

Hope you never need help from one of them If you think they don't read this board, you're sadly mistaken; maybe not the best move since everyone knows who you are.

BTW.....hope the troopers ok, any injury in the line of the duty is tough.

My .02

TR

[RODACTION]

I hope he is doing well, and do WE know what he was doing ? Maybe not. I think those OSP guys/gals do a fine job. Maybe up in a tree to get a vantage on a snagger is not the best idea but had he not fallen from the tree :tongue:


I got checked last week in very secluded area, the 2 officers came out of the brush up to the drift boat They were very proffesional and quite nice. They admitted they had been watching us for awile, they were in camo waders and coats, talked to us for a few minutes, and said "Oh, one last thing ? can we have a look at your tags ?" Then it was good luck guys..........

[Lund]

I've witnessed their stupid activities first hand. I respect the guys who are doing their job. I didn't say they are all bad. I have a few that are good friends in the OSP. Tillamook ones are the all mighty who needs a reality check. I hope everyone at the OSP is reading this. The bad ones know we have no love loss. I'm entilted to my opinion, and it's just that. My

[Yeti]

WOW Lund! Nothing like [whoopsydaisies!] in someones wounds when they are down! [whoopsydaisies!] do you know about this situation? Or are you just that kid of guy?

Yeti

[skybuster]

Hopefully he can make a full and speedy recovery. A 30 foot fall is no joke. He is lucky to be alive, and hopefully he won't suffer any permanent disability.

It does make you wonder what he would be doing 30 feet up a tree. If it was a simple surveillance for something like snaggers then I would have to say it may have been an unnecessary risk. There had to have been an easier way to get what he was after.

[Lund]

I'd give them the benefit of the doubt, but I highly doubt they were trying to save someones life when he chose to put his own in danger. None of us will know whether they were trying to bust snagger or just looking around, as the report stated, they were not willing to coment on it. They love to publish when they bust someone, but you very rarly hear about them making mistakes. It happens everyday.

I hope the guy recovers just fine, he's probably a great person who had a accident. Could it have been handled a different way. You bet it could of. Risking your life to write a ticket is not where he should of been.

I watched two OSP troopers at OC try to climb down a tree to get to the rocks at the falls. They almost broke their neck to find the fish I had in the boat were all legally caught and tagged. Worth the effort or safe, Not.

[sandman]

Lund,Have you had alot of run-ins with the osp??

[Lund]

I have been check more times than everyone on this board combined. I had problems with them 7 years ago. Now we try to avoid one another. They tried to throw the book at me and found it difficult to get any convictions. I made poor decisions and lost my license for two years. Do I regret it, you bet I do. However, I also witnessed multiple OSP lie under oath. I lost all respect for about 10 of them.

[Elkhunter]

O, are you the one the OSP calls "Pee-Wee"?

[Lund]

That is the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

[C-lice]

I can tell you all from firsthand experience that Trooper Frerichs (as well as Sgt. Perske, who also patrols this area) are both absolutely stand-up guys. I can also tell you that there have been more and more snaggers on the North Umpqua in the past few years than there used to be, and that there is less law enforcement presence than there used to be. There are also a lot of people poaching every game animal you can think of. Let's just say that not everybody has given up hound hunting. These OSP guys are fighting an uphill battle.

Story--when there were public meetings for the rule changes in 2004, Trooper Frerichs and Sgt. Perske both came to the meeting so they could be available to answer questions. I sincerely doubt that both of them were on work time at 8:30 PM on a Wednesday. Anyway, the question of whether Oregon fishermen should wear licenses outside their clothing like Californians have to came up. Both officers were opposed to it because while it would simplify their jobs, they would lose the valuable public contact. These guys are more concerned teaching the law and helping people than they are about harrassing innocent people.

I don't have the first clue why he was up in the tree. But if it was to get after snaggers, he could have done that in a million easier ways down here. I trust his judgement; if he was up a tree there was a good reason.

Sure there are OSP who are jerks. There are teachers out there who hate kids, Forest Service employees who set fires, and sadistic doctors. There are cops on power trips. Trooper Frerichs isn't one of those. I hope I see him back on the river.

[Bait Bucket]

This guy any relation to Keith Richards?

[Joe Schwab]

HooBoy!

They tried to throw the book at me and found it difficult to get any convictions. I made poor decisions and lost my license for two years. Do I regret it, you bet I do. However, I also witnessed multiple OSP lie under oath. I lost all respect for about 10 of them.

You don't get suspended for making poor decisions. You get suspended for breaking the law!

[Fish Wheels]

I can tell you that Lund will never get any biz from me or any of my friends after his comment on here and I'll be sure to mention it to him and his clients if I see him onm the river. What a jerk. Who would want to fish with a guy like that anyways.

[Mtnsilverwolf]

I gotta chime in on this one. I too have had some pretty "interesting" experiences with OSP "Gamies" and like almost EVERY PROFESSION there are good and bad. Many of the gameies are cops 1st and outdoorsman 2nd. When I was younger I thought most of the gamies didn't know what they were doing in L.E. so they ended up in F&G Enforcement. As I have been around long enough to come full circle, I know they have a very tough job of it most of the time. As far as "hiding in the bushes" or "Stupid guys climbing trees" I gotta say that sounds a little like sour grapes. Most violators don't just flagrently do so, and most don't just roll over and give up. (If you haven't guessed, yes I'm in L.E. and an outdoorsman. I'm not with OSP, but I have the utmost respect for the ones that earn it every day. My .02

[steelhead22]

Lund- How in the hell can you get on here and take shots at OSP after your history?

I have so much more I want to say, but getting kicked of the board isn't worth it for a CRIMINAL.

[Pete]

OK, this doesn't need to go any further.