A woke Oregon city is facing intense backlash after reappointing a convicted murderer to oversee police conduct, igniting outrage from law enforcement, prosecutors, and the victim’s family.
Salem officials voted 5–4 last month to reinstate Kyle Hedquist, 47, on the city’s Community Police Review Board and Civil Service Commission.
Hedquist was sentenced to life without parole for the 1994 execution-style murder of 19-year-old Nikki Thrasher, a crime prosecutors said was carried out to silence her over a burglary spree.
Hedquist was released from prison in 2022 after former Gov. Kate Brown (D) commuted his sentence, arguing he was 17 at the time of the killing and should not spend his life behind bars.
Now, just three years after walking free, Hedquist is once again serving in an oversight role reviewing police conduct.
“I’ve been on ride-alongs. I’ve interacted with the police department on multiple occasions. I’ve been to briefings. There’s never been a problem,” Hedquist told local media while defending his appointment.
Prosecutors strongly disagree.
Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson blasted the decision, calling it reckless and deeply inappropriate.
“Mr. Hedquist’s crimes make him an inappropriate person to oversee anything that police officers do,” Clarkson said. “We wouldn’t put a bank robber in charge of a bank. We wouldn’t give a child molester the ability to run a daycare.”
Police and fire unions echoed the concern. Salem Police Employees Union President Scotty Nowning said exposing officers to oversight by a convicted killer defies common sense.
“To think that we’re providing education on how we do what we do to someone with that criminal history, it just doesn’t seem too smart,” he said.
The reappointment has also reopened wounds for the victim’s family.
Nikki Thrasher’s mother, Holly Thrasher, previously said she was never notified before Hedquist’s sentence was commuted, as the Daily Mail reported.
“He took the life of my daughter in cold blood,” she said at the time. “It was a cold-blooded murder. He planned it.”
Despite the outcry, Salem City Councilor Mai Vang defended the move, arguing Hedquist offers a “different perspective” because of his time in the criminal justice system.
“He’s one voice among nine. He’s not running the show, but his experience matters,” Vang said.
Critics say that the explanation exposes exactly what is wrong with the city’s priorities.
Hedquist lured Thrasher down a remote logging road and shot her in the back of the head. Prosecutors said the murder was calculated and deliberate.
He served roughly 27 years before being released early under Brown’s clemency spree, which freed dozens of violent offenders and drew widespread condemnation from law enforcement.
The Salem Professional Fire Fighters Local 314 went so far as to launch a website demanding the city reverse course, urging residents to “stand with police and fire” and force council members to fix what they called a self-inflicted disaster.
Hedquist insists the controversy is overblown and notes he already served two years on the board without incident.
“All it is is just recommendations,” he said.
For many residents, that explanation rings hollow.
In a city already struggling with public safety concerns, the idea that a man convicted of murder now helps oversee police conduct has become a symbol of how far ideological governance has gone.
