Salem Removes Convicted Murderer From Police Oversight Board After Backlash

The Salem, Oregon City Council voted 6–2 at a Jan. 7 special meeting to revoke convicted murderer Kyle Hedquist’s appointments to the Community Police Review Board and the Civil Service Commission, reversing a narrow 5–4 reappointment it had approved on Dec. 8. Hedquist, who served nearly 28 years for the 1995 murder of 19‑year‑old Nikki Thrasher before his sentence was commuted by then‑Gov. Kate Brown, had been serving on public safety advisory boards while working as a policy associate for the Oregon Justice Resource Center. The reversal followed weeks of public outrage, emotional testimony from residents and victims’ friends, and a pressure campaign by the Salem Police Employees Union and Salem Professional Fire Fighters Local 314, which said his role created a 'credibility crisis' for law enforcement oversight. City staff acknowledged that no background checks had been conducted for board and commission members, and council documents showed members had received no guidance on which criminal convictions should disqualify people, how much time must pass after a crime, or whether stricter vetting was needed for sensitive police‑oversight posts. The episode has sparked a broader debate over how cities should balance rehabilitation and lived‑experience perspectives with community expectations for who sits in judgment over police conduct.