A White Supremacist Shot A Cop, Took A Woman Hostage. Guess How It Ended?
Jeffery Carl Giddings, 45, of Gladstone, Oregon was riding a bicycle when he was stopped by the Gladstone Police for questioning. Giddings’ face is heavily tattooed with slogans from white supremacist groups including “Aryan Pride” and the classy statement of “FUCK THE FEDS.” His mother must be proud. Giddings has a lengthy criminal history and he has been in prison for the majority of the last 25 years due to various criminal convictions.
Giddings, unprovoked, drew a handgun and shot Sergeant Lee Jundt, a 20-year veteran of the police force. Thankfully, Jundt was wearing a bulletproof vest and was not seriously injured in the attack. Giddings then retreated to a Subway sandwich shop where he took a woman hostage. A standoff ensued before tactical officers took matters into their hands and fired a shot at Giddings which subdued him and he was taken into custody without any further injuries.
While Giddings is a cut from the cloth white supremacist, he also benefits from his own white privilege. Had Giddings been African-American, the scenario in the restaurant would have likely ended in a hail of bullets instead of police only firing a single shot. Furthermore, after Giddings was taken into custody he was not roughed up by police even after he shot a police officer, which echoes the opposite scenario which so many individuals of color would have faced in similar circumstances.
He was charged in 2012 with a felony of a felon being in possession of a firearm. He should have faced a 15-year mandatory sentence, but he was only given four and three-quarter years after an appeals court ruled Giddings’ sentence didn’t meet the qualifications of a career criminal and he was released for time served. They may have had a point, he had only been arrested 23 separate times — surely he wasn’t a career criminal. Due to the ruling of the appeals court, Giddings was free to walk the streets only to cause further damage. Certain individuals are beyond rehabilitation and Giddings is a clear example such a case.
Jeffery Carl Giddings has not yet been officially charged in the shooting and is presently being held at the Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland. Where he will be sent after he is discharged is unknown as he also has an active warrant in a different municipality due to heroin possession. Wherever he lands Giddings deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
