On the evening of April 15, 2023, a dedicated white male Nyssa Police Department Reserve Officer, Joseph Johnson, age 43, was tragically killed in the line of duty. Johnson, who also worked as a corrections employee and was a married father of two, was responding to a call about a violent individual who was damaging property and making threats. The call came in around 8:20 p.m., setting in motion a chain of events that would end in tragedy.
Upon learning the suspect had fled the initial
scene in a vehicle, Officer Johnson initiated a pursuit through the city of Nyssa. The chase concluded when the suspect's vehicle came to a stop at the corner of Locust Avenue and North Third Street. As Johnson pulled his patrol car over as well, the suspect, identified as 36-year-old Rene Castro of Nyssa, immediately exited his vehicle and opened fire. Before Johnson had a chance to return fire or even defend himself, he was fatally wounded while still inside his car. First responders arrived on the scene with remarkable speed, but it was too late; Officer Johnson was already deceased.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Rene Castro fled the scene, sparking an intense manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Oregon State Police, the Malheur County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, and police departments from across the region. The search for Castro came to an end two days later, on the morning of April 17, when investigators located him at a residence in the nearby city of Ontario, Oregon. A SWAT team surrounded the home and took Castro into custody without further incident.
Rene Castro was subsequently charged with the murder of Reserve Officer Joseph Johnson. In March 2024, Castro pleaded guilty to aggravated murder. As a result of his guilty plea, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving a minimum of 30 years. The community mourned the loss of Officer Johnson, who was remembered as a devoted public servant, a loving husband and father, and a pillar of his community. In a lasting tribute, the City of Nyssa renamed a local park in his honor: Corporal Joe Johnson Memorial Park.
