Trooper Cederberg: Shooting, Recovery, and $30M Lawsuit

On Christmas night 2016, Oregon State Police Senior Trooper Nic Cederberg was shot thirteen times while confronting a man who had just murdered his estranged wife in King City, Oregon. He survived, with a bullet still lodged in his spine, and later filed a $30 million federal negligence lawsuit alleging that 911 dispatchers failed to warn him the suspect was armed and dangerous. The Trooper Cederberg shooting and lawsuit ended in 2020 when a federal judge granted summary judgment for the defendants, a ruling the Ninth Circuit affirmed in 2022.

What Happened on Christmas Night 2016

Earlier that evening, James Tylka, 30, shot his estranged wife Katelynn Armand-Tylka, 24, eight times in her car after she dropped off their eleven-month-old daughter at his King City home. He had bought the 9mm handgun the day before. Investigators later found a petition for a restraining order and an anniversary card from Tylka in Katelynn’s vehicle with the handwritten note, “I am sorry for what I am about to do.”¹

Cederberg, then 32, was off duty but heard the radio broadcast describing the suspect vehicle. He spotted Tylka’s car backing into a driveway, and Tylka fled when he recognized the unmarked patrol car.²

The pursuit ended on a dead-end road south of Sherwood. Tylka rammed his car into the patrol car, then opened fire, hitting Cederberg in the right hip and paralyzing his legs. The gunfight continued with Cederberg on the ground. Seven rounds struck his body and five more were absorbed by his ballistic vest.² At one point, Tylka took Cederberg’s own service weapon and used it against him.³

Tylka retreated into vegetation on a nearby embankment. Officers from Sherwood, Tualatin, and Hillsboro arrived, located him with a flashlight, and opened fire when he pointed a firearm at them. Five officers fired roughly 40 rounds combined, and Tylka died at the scene.⁴

Injuries and Recovery

Seven bullets penetrated Cederberg’s arms, abdomen, and back, collapsing one lung and nearly paralyzing him. Four rounds were still in his body when he arrived at Oregon Health and Science University Hospital, and one, embedded in his lower spine, is expected to remain there permanently. He also suffered two broken arms.⁵

Medical professionals credited Sherwood Officer Joseph Twigg with saving his life by applying a combat trauma kit at the scene.⁴ By mid-January 2017, Cederberg was moving through the hospital in a wheelchair and was soon released to begin physical therapy.⁵

The $30 Million Lawsuit

On November 26, 2018, Cederberg and his wife, Hayley Shelton, filed a federal negligence suit in Portland seeking $30 million. Cederberg sought roughly $20 million for past and future pain and suffering; Shelton, who became his caregiver, sought $10 million.⁶ The defendants were the Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency (the county’s 911 center), the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and Legacy Meridian Park Hospital.⁷

The 911 Center Claims

The central claim was that dispatchers knew Tylka was armed, suicidal, and had just killed his wife, but issued a county-wide “attempt to locate” bulletin that omitted those details.⁶ The 911 center used three radio channels, and OSP troopers carried “pack set” radios that could monitor only one at a time. Information entered into the county’s Computer-Aided Dispatch system about Tylka being a suicidal homicide suspect was never broadcast on the channel Cederberg was monitoring. Even after an OSP dispatcher confirmed to a 911 dispatcher that Cederberg was actively pursuing Tylka, the suit alleged, no one told him what he was dealing with.⁸

Cederberg contended that had he known the suspect was armed and wanted for murder, he would not have activated his lights and siren, would not have pursued Tylka alone, and would not have followed him down a dark, isolated dead-end road.⁶

The Hospital and Sheriff’s Office Claims

The complaint reached back to November 30, 2016, when Tylka attempted suicide by overdosing on insulin. During transport to Legacy Meridian Park Hospital, a King City police officer seized knives from him and faxed a “Peace Officer Hold” form to the hospital. The lawsuit alleged that Dr. Timothy David Ziegler treated Tylka for the overdose but discharged him without admitting him for mental health treatment or transferring him elsewhere, despite the hold and despite information from Katelynn that her husband was depressed, had bought knives to harm her and their child, and had threatened them.⁸

The suit also alleged that a Washington County sheriff’s deputy should have arrested Tylka in connection with his threats against Katelynn before the murder.⁹

How the Case Ended

U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernández ruled on July 8, 2019, dismissing the claims against the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with prejudice. The claims against the 911 center were partially dismissed, but without prejudice, allowing the plaintiffs to amend.⁸

On September 28, 2020, the court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, ending the case. Cederberg and Shelton appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which issued a mandate affirming the district court on April 26, 2022.¹⁰

Recognition

In July 2017, the American Association of State Troopers named Cederberg its Trooper of the Year.¹¹ He also received the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s North America’s Trooper of the Year award.¹² On May 22, 2019, President Donald Trump presented him with the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor at a White House ceremony, with a citation recognizing him “for taking brave and decisive action to bring a murderer to justice on Christmas night, 2016.”¹³

1
Washington County DA’s Office. Katelynn Armand-Tylka Homicide Press Release
2
Bureau of Justice Assistance. Medal of Valor Recipient: Nicholas Cederberg
3
The Oregonian. Five Officers Justified in Firing at Suspect Who Shot Trooper
4
KOIN. Details of Trooper Cederberg Shootout Released
5
State Troopers Coalition. Oregon State Trooper Wounded on Christmas Night Continues to Improve
6
East Oregonian. Oregon State Police Trooper Shot 12 Times Files $30M Lawsuit
7
KATU. OSP Trooper Nic Cederberg, Shot 12 Times on Christmas Night, Files $30 Million Lawsuit
8
Justia. Cederberg v. Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency, Case No. 3:2018cv02044
9
Police1. Ore. Trooper Shot 12 Times Files $30M Negligence Lawsuit
10
PACER Monitor. Cederberg v. Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency
11
State Troopers Coalition. Trooper of the Year
12
Police Magazine. Wounded Ore. Trooper Named North America’s Trooper of the Year
13
Trump White House Archives. Remarks by President Trump at Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Ceremony