Story Published:
Apr 5, 2008 at 7:24 PM PST
By
Rudabeh Shahbazi
PENDLETON-- A young woman accused of trying to kill a Milton Freewater police officer last year, changed her plea Friday.
Officer Scott Hays said he was forced to pull his gun to save his own life last December, when Marisa Hawk charged him with a stolen truck and then took off.
Hawk was facing 190 months for attempted aggravated murder, among other charges. Instead, she made a deal and pleaded guilty to assault in the second degree. She will serve a little over six years in an Oregon prison.
In an exclusive Action News interview, Hawk admitted she enjoyed stealing cars, but said she never tried to kill Hays.
He tells a different story.
He said his life and his family flashed before him as he lay helpless on the ground.
"She did try to kill me," he said. "There were a few seconds when I thought I was going to die."
He vividly remembers that winter day when a traffic stop turned into a struggle for survival. He says he tried to stop Hawk, but once he got out of his vehicle, she ran him down from behind the wheel of a truck, throwing him against a wall-- and then came at him again.
"I'm all scrunched up, laying there, thinking about my wife and kids," he recalled. "It was me or her, and I was going to go home alive, no matter what cost."
That's when Hays pulled out his gun and sprayed the pickup with 11 bullets. Only one grazed Hawk's hand as she screeched away. Authorities found her hiding in a Pendleton motel room a few days later, after Tribal Police tipped them off.
Hawk admits to stealing the truck, but claims an icy road is what made the vehicle slide toward Hays.
Hays was visibly agitated and emotional in the courtroom, as District Attorney Dean Gushwa explained that there was no way to prove Hawk was in control of the car that day. Hays read a statement to Hawk, who appeared via video conference from jail. He told her his five-year-old twins can't understand why someone would want to hurt and kill their dad just because he wore a uniform.
Hays said if Hawk were really sorry, she wouldn't have left him injured, and she wouldn't have tried to run him down a second time.
From jail, Hawk later told Action News she is sorry, and more importantly, misunderstood. She has an extensive criminal record in multiple states, and had been released from jail the day before the incident.
While Hays' life is one of service and family, Hawk said hers was a story of hardship, abuse and pain. She ran away from home, became a heroin addict and had two children when she was still a teenager, shuffled between jail, boarding schools and reservations.
"Drugs and alcohol was my companion," said the 22-year-old. "The streets was my home, and jail is my home."
She says she started stealing cars for drug money-- and the adrenaline rush. She said it "used to be" worth it.
"It was all about fun," said Hawk. "The adrenaline gets you high. But after all this, the past two years, it all came crashing down on me and it ain't fun no more."
Now, from jail, Hawk thinks about the two kids she had as a teen. They now live with her mother, who Hawk said neglected her when she was a child.
"All they know me from is through a wall, the windows, pictures," said a teary-eyed Hawk. "It's sad."
Officer Hays is recovering from his injuries and is back to work. He's already been on two more pursuits since he's been back. He says he can't imagine doing anything else.
"My father was a police officer, my great grandfather was a police officer in Milton Freewater," he said. "This has been a life-long passion of mine."
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