Nope, not satire.
Salem, Oregon, just RE-appointed a murderer to its police oversight board.
No, really! They actually did this!
As noted, Kyle Hedquist had his lief sentence commuted by former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown in 2022.
More from the Salem Statesman Journal:
Salem City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke is calling on the city council to revisit in January the reappointment of a Community Police Review Board member with a past murder conviction.
Salem City Council voted 5-4 Dec. 8 to reappoint Kyle Hedquist to the police review board.
Nordyke, who is running against Mayor Julie Hoy, originally voted in favor of Hedquist's reappointment, but said he should be removed from public safety boards after hearing from the Salem Police and Salem Fire unions. She is calling on council to revisit the issue Jan. 12.
'The police and firefighter unions each raised legitimate concerns that I hadn't fully considered,' Nordyke said in a statement. 'After weighing this new information, I realized I should have sought broader input before the vote.'
As a teen in 1994, Hedquist murdered another teen because he was afraid she's snitch on him for stealing things.
He drove her down a logging road, shot her, and dumped her body.
After 27 years in prison, the woke former governor decided he deserved a second chance (thereby denying justice to the victim's family and friends).
Fast forward to December 8, 2025, and the Salem city council exuberantly RE-appointed him to oversee the community's law enforcement efforts after his future on the board was called up for a vote due to his criminal record.
City Councilor Mai Vang said Hedquist "brings a perspective that most of us don't have."
[He] brings a perspective that most of us don't have and can bring a unique angle to the community. As someone who's been through the criminal justice system, he understands community safety from a different angle.
Hedquist can't even hold the police accountable.
Why?
He's ineligible for ride-alongs because he's a felon.
Hequist has certainly learned how to use woke language to weaponize empathy. When he was initially appointed to the board in 2024, he had this to say:
I have a perspective of someone who is justice impacted with 28 years lived experience. I served in leadership positions in multiple prison-based organizations.
You are not "justice impacted," my dude. You served jail time for murder.
You don't have "28 years lived experience." You served jail time for murder.
He writes proudly about his "leadership" in "organizations," as though jail time for murder was a resumé-building experience!
This linguistic positioning does not seem like something a remorseful man would say.
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