A Multnomah County deputy who ran over and killed a man while on patrol last year in Wood Village at first radioed that someone had jumped in front of his cruiser, then later told investigators that he actually hadn't seen anyone.

The deputy's statements to colleagues and investigators after he discovered Stephen Heberling under the rear axle of his car are one of the main points of contention in a $682,000 wrongful death lawsuit filed against the county by Heberling's family.

Deputy Kent Krumpschmidt wasn't at fault in the collision, two Portland police investigators found in a review of the crash. They determined that Heberling, a Vietnam veteran who had parked his RV in the nearby lot of Camping World, had been lying in the street.

Heberling's family said the 68-year-old man wasn't suicidal and they don't understand the police findings. Multnomah County and the Sheriff's Office have declined comment on the case. The county hasn't yet filed a response to the lawsuit's claims.

Police reports obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive after a public records request show an evolving narrative of the case. Records also show that Krumpschmidt ran into someone else with his patrol car two years earlier while on duty - injuring a bicyclist in Southeast Portland.

Previous crash

In March 2014, Multnomah County Deputy Kent Krumpschmidt hit bicyclist Justin Logan near Southeast Sixth Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard, according to a lawsuit filed by Logan.

Krumpschmidt and Logan were stopped on opposite ends of Sixth Avenue. Logan rode north after traffic cleared on Hawthorne. Krumpschmidt crashed into him as the deputy was turning east at the intersection.

Logan sued Krumpschmidt and Multnomah County in December 2014 for $25,000, claiming injuries to his hand and wrist. The county agreed to pay Logan $3,740 in February 2015. The lawsuit was dismissed two months later.

In Heberling's case, the investigation cited roadway evidence and on-site calculations to determine Krumpschmidt likely didn't have enough time to perceive Heberling as a hazard in the street and react in time to avoid hitting him with his Chevrolet Caprice.

Before dawn on April 29, 2016, Krumpschmidt had been patrolling a stretch of Northeast Sandy Boulevard that passes through a commercial business area without crosswalks and leads to a dead end. Street lights line the road about 160 feet apart, according to the investigative report.

He wasn't assigned to the area that morning but was nearby, so he made a spin through, he told investigators. He knew people parked their motorhomes overnight at Camping World. He estimated patrolling the area hundreds of times during his seven-year career.

In fact, he learned after the crash that he knew the man he had hit - Krumpschmidt had encountered Heberling at least twice before, including once in the Camping World lot, the police reports said. The year before, Krumpschmidt had knocked on Heberling's RV door while on patrol and said Heberling appeared agitated until he realized the deputy wasn't going to give him a ticket. Krumpschmidt described Heberling as "eccentric" and "didn't seem to be as 'focused' as a normal person would be," the report said.

On the morning of the crash, Krumpschmidt said he recognized Heberling's green and white motorhome, but didn't plan to contact him because he assumed Heberling and others parked there would be gone by the time the business opened.

Shortly after 4 a.m., Krumpschmidt's voice came over the police radio. Someone had jumped in front of his car, he broadcast out to other deputies on patrol and to dispatch, according to the police reports.

Two deputies confirmed during their interviews that's what Krumpschmidt said.

But 10 days later, when he talked to the Portland detectives, Krumpschmidt said he was focused on the road, saw a dark object, but didn't see a person or realize that the Caprice had run over anything.

Then he looked in his rearview mirror and saw a pair of blue slip-on shoes in the road, he said. He thought maybe he had run over a bag of clothes so he slowed down and got out of his car.

He saw nothing when he checked the front of the car. He saw nothing as he walked toward the back of the car. Then he looked underneath and saw Heberling trapped under the car, according to the account he gave police.

When Krumpschmidt called for help, Deputy David Hughes, who had been patrolling at Walmart a few blocks away, was the first to arrive at the scene. He found Krumpschmidt out of his car, signaling him over with his flashlight.

Hughes told investigators that Heberling appeared to still be breathing. Investigators believe he had been dragged under the car for about 100 feet.

Deputy Arron Sieczkowski arrived next and said Krumpschmidt walked toward him with his hands behind his head and appeared upset. Krumpschmidt repeated that Heberling jumped in front of his patrol car, according to the police reports.

Sgt. Sean Mallory, who arrived a short time later, told investigators that Krumpschmidt said he had turned around at a dead end and was looking at someone in the Camping World lot, hit something and then stopped immediately and saw Heberling. Mallory said he couldn't remember what Krumpschmidt said over the radio to alert others of the crash.

The deputies, believing they might injure Heberling further if they moved him, decided to wait until paramedics arrived to get the patrol car off him.

Heberling died four hours later at a Portland hospital from skull and rib fractures.

Nathan Foster, a friend of Heberling who also was staying overnight at the Camping World lot, told police he never heard Heberling mention harming himself. Heberling didn't smoke or take drugs and Foster described him as quiet and friendly. Foster said he didn't witness the crash because he was sleeping.

No toxicology test was performed on Heberling, the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office said.

Krumpschmidt told Portland police he wasn't distracted before the crash. He typically drove with his patrol car computer screen closed because it hampered his vision and he wasn't using either of his two cellphones. His patrol car had no cameras and he wasn't wearing a video recording device and no nearby business surveillance video captured the crash.

Krumpschmidt explained that he never saw anyone jump in front of patrol car, but said it over the radio because "it was the only thing he could think to say at the time that would get someone there fast," the report said. Investigators don't mention the discrepancy again in the report.

They determined that Heberling was likely lying down in the road because Krumpschmidt's car had no front-end damage and getting caught under the car indicated he was low to the ground when he was hit.

Data from the deputy's car show he was driving 33 mph in a 25 mph zone and then slowed down around the point of impact. Weather wasn't a factor in the crash, the reports said.

Lawyer John Kesler III, who represents Heberling's estate in the suit, said the crash is tragic for everyone involved, but he was concerned by Krumpschmidt's statements.

"Even if (Heberling) was lying in the road as they say, why couldn't the deputy who is patrolling, familiar with the area and has his headlights on not see him there?" Kesler said. "The police are supposed to help people in the road, not just run them over."

The Portland police investigators -- Sgt. Robert Voepel and Officer Phillip Maynard -- found no evidence that Heberling was suicidal or made any earlier attempts to harm himself. There were no markings showing the patrol car's front tires went over Heberling directly, the reports said. It appeared Heberling was lying in-line or parallel to Krumpschmidt's travel path.

"The question remains, why was Stephen Heberling laying in the road?" Maynard wrote. "Unfortunately, without additional evidence the answer to this question will likely remain unanswered."

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey