Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy Tyler Morrow awarded Law Enforcement Medal of Honor

Bill Poehler, Salem Statesman Journal
·2 min read
Deputy Sheriff Tyler Morrow of the Marion County Sheriff's Office holds the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor during a ceremony held at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem. Morrow is the second law enforcement officer ever awarded the honor.
Deputy Sheriff Tyler Morrow of the Marion County Sheriff's Office holds the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor during a ceremony held at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem. Morrow is the second law enforcement officer ever awarded the honor.

Tyler Morrow, a deputy with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, has been awarded the state's Law Enforcement Medal of Honor, according to the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.

Morrow has worked for the Marion County Sheriff's since 2012.

He is the second person to ever be given the medal and the first to receive it in 10 years. The previous was David Peterson of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.

According to a news release, Morrow was involved in an incident during a SWAT event on April 25, 2022, in the parking lot of the Flying J truck stop in Aurora.

A deputy U.S. marshal had spotted a fugitive, 27-year-old Micaiah Clinton of Portland, at the stop at 6:15 a.m. Clinton was wanted on warrants for felony firearm possession and attempting to elude police, according to court records.

Clinton barricaded himself in a van, according to reports from the time. After about four hours of attempted negotiations, SWAT team members put gas munitions in the van to try to get him to come out.

Clinton emerged from the van and began firing a gun, wounding Jesse Ponce, an officer from the Woodburn Police Department. Ponce was part of the Marion County Interagency SWAT team.

Deputy Sheriff Tyler Morrow, center, of the Marion County Sheriff's Office, poses with Marion County Sheriff Nick Hunter, left, and Oregon State Police Superintendent Casey Codding, right. Morrow was awarded a Law Enforcement Medal of Honor for his efforts to save a fellow officer shot in the line of duty.
Deputy Sheriff Tyler Morrow, center, of the Marion County Sheriff's Office, poses with Marion County Sheriff Nick Hunter, left, and Oregon State Police Superintendent Casey Codding, right. Morrow was awarded a Law Enforcement Medal of Honor for his efforts to save a fellow officer shot in the line of duty.

Morrow returned fire at Clinton and moved Ponce to a safe location.

Medics who were on site provided the wounded officer with first aid. Ponce was taken to a Portland Hospital, where he underwent three surgeries to treat gunshot wounds in the upper thigh of his left leg and right lower leg.

He recovered and returned to duty two months later.

Clinton died at the scene.

Morrow was presented the Medal of Honor Aug. 28 by Oregon State Police Superintendent Casey Codding.

The award was established in 2005. According to the DPSST, to receive the medal, the officer must have displayed an act of bravery or self-sacrifice while in an official capacity.

Peterson received the Medal of Honor in 2013. He was wounded while subduing a suspect in 2012 south of Independence.

Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Marion County deputy awarded Law Enforcement Medal of Honor