SPRINGFIELD – District Attorney Christopher J. Parosa recently confirmed the actions of Springfield Police officers were lawful in a July 30, 2025, officer-involved shooting. His 11-page report details the incident.

2:37 p.m.

Police received a call from the Chase Bank manager at 3545 Gateway Blvd. about a disorderly man, Daniel A. Kahn, in his late 30s, wearing black and carrying a red trash bag. Kahn later expressed frustration to the police over not being allowed to open a bank account. He used hostile language and provoked staff before they called the police, noting he was also “sniffing something off in foil” on the street.

Kahn briefly entered an AM/PM store, then continued toward a Chevron gas station, kicking light poles and yelling. Officer Blaser arrived at 2:47 p.m. and approached Kahn, asking why he was yelling. Kahn quickly approached Blaser despite a metal railing blocking his path, refused to sit upon request, and taunted the officer.

As Kahn screamed, Blaser called for backup. Kahn backed away and grabbed at his hip. Kahn lunged at Blaser, kicking him. Blaser deployed his taser with minimal effect.

Officer Newton then seized Kahn from behind, leading to a struggle where Kahn flailed and punched Newton while he attempted to gain control of Kahn’s arms. Officer Newton then attempted to control Kahn, who struggled and punched him. Officer Blaser and Korth intervened, with Blaser using his taser while Korth tried to control Kahn’s legs. 

During the struggle, Blaser was stabbed and realized he was bleeding, warning the others about Kahn’s knife. The confrontation lasted 17 seconds, and once the officers retreated, they drew their weapons, holding Kahn at gunpoint. Body camera footage showed Blaser bleeding from his left arm, and Officer Newton was also injured.

Despite repeated commands to drop the knife, Kahn threatened officers saying, “You’re not taking me alive,” among other disturbing statements.

During a confrontation, Kahn was armed with a curved Karambit knife and fought with Officer Newton on the ground. Officers Blaser and Korth intervened, with Blaser using a taser to stun Kahn while Korth attempted to control his legs. In the process, officers realized Kahn still had the knife. The officers then backed away, and body camera footage captured Kahn attacking both officers with the weapon.

Officers Blaser and Korth confronted Kahn at a bus terminal, holding him at gunpoint as he was on his right knee. Blaser repeatedly ordered Kahn to drop a knife while visibly bleeding from his left arm. Officer Newton, also injured, was nearby. Korth warned Blaser about the risk of crossfire. Kahn, while on the sidewalk, shouted that the situation was what the officers wanted and declared he wouldn’t be taken alive before standing up. Blaser threatened that Kahn would be shot if he didn’t drop the knife.

The standoff between Officers Blaser, Korth, and Kahn that followed lasted seven minutes. 

Kahn then made a series of disturbing statements, including: “I am dying tonight,” “you are gonna kill me,” “you don’t have a choice,” “there is nothing to talk about,” “you have to kill me,” and “the least you can do is end it” as Officer Blaser tried to calm the situation by asking about allegations Kahn was making. 

Numerous officers from the Springfield Police Department and the  Oregon State Police arrived in the area to provide support, establish a perimeter, and provide traffic control. 

2:55 p.m.

Sergeant Bazer arrived to find Kahn armed with two knives. Despite commands to drop the weapons, Kahn did not comply. Bazer fired a less lethal round at Kahn without effect. Kahn then fled toward the Starbucks parking lot, where he was confronted by Trooper Jarvis, who warned him to stop or be tased. Kahn ran up a pedestrian walkway, and Jarvis’s taser also failed to stop him. A group of 12 to 15 officers, including Troopers Smart and Cook, pursued Kahn, using tasers in an effort to subdue him, but all attempts with less lethal options were unsuccessful, and Kahn continued to evade capture.

2:56:38 p.m.

As Kahn exited the parking lot onto the side street just north of the Starbucks and immediately south of the Happy’s Drive Thru Car Wash located at 3356 Gateway, he was confronted by Springfield Detective Brian Dunn, who had exited his vehicle on Gateway and ran up the side street in an effort to cut Kahn off. 

As Kahn and Dunn came together, Kahn, still holding knives in both hands, briefly paused. Detective Dunn stopped pursuing, raised his .223 caliber rifle, and threatened to shoot him if he did not freeze.

Kahn immediately turned to the west and ran along the southern wall of the Happy’s Drive Thru Car Wash, as officers continued to pursue. During the chase, Kahn approached the southwest corner of the building, where customers of the business were lined up to enter the car wash.

He navigated around parked vehicles, including a pickup truck occupied by a mother and child, and then turned east into an indoor corridor next to the car wash. Several vehicles were in the car wash at the time, and a business employee was seen quickly moving between them as Kahn and the pursuing officers entered the bay.

2:56:50 p.m.

Detective Dunn shot Kahn twice in the back while he was armed with knives. After falling to the ground, Kahn was commanded by officers to drop the knives. Officers disarmed him and then began providing medical assistance. Fire department personnel arrived shortly after, but determined that Kahn was deceased.

The Lane County Interagency Deadly Force Investigation Team (IDFIT) was activated to investigate an officer-involved shooting involving Springfield Police Department and Oregon State Police officers. Led by the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation received assistance from various local and federal agencies. The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death, while Medical Legal Death Investigators conducted preliminary investigations with oversight from the District Attorney’s Office, which also had a senior member present at the scene.

Parosa believed the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent serious harm to officers and civilians at Happy’s Drive Thru Car Wash and that Officer Dunn warned Kahn to drop his knife or face being shot.

“It was reasonable, under these circumstances, for Detective Dunn to fear that  Daniel Kahn, who had already stabbed two police officers, broadcasted that he would not be taken alive, was still holding knives, and did not respond to less lethal weapons being used against him, would, in his desperation, kill a police officer or citizen and/or take a citizen hostage,” Parosa said in the report. 

In Parosa’s conversations with Morton Kahn, Daniel’s father, “it is evident that this is yet another example of the mental health system failing a troubled man.”

According to  Morton Kahn, his son’s mental illness had been understood by systems in the State of  Texas for many years. Despite his illness causing past incidents of violent outbursts, which even led to criminal convictions, Daniel Kahn was denied permanent, secure placement in a mental health institution. As a consequence, Daniel Kahn’s mental illness went untreated, and he relied on street drugs. The drugs exacerbated his mental illness and led his son to live a transitory life on the streets that was marked by psychosis. 

Parosa said that, “because of that reality, it came as little surprise to Morton Kahn that his son had been killed in a violent incident,” adding that Daniel Kahn’s story is unacceptable. “By failing to adequately address mental illness, we are subjecting citizens, police, and the mentally ill to intolerable risks of violence on our streets.” 

Parosa said that Kahn’s father has made public statements regarding his thoughts and desires for this investigation, wherein he “demonstrated tremendous understanding and grace toward the officers involved, having expressed a desire not to see any consequences befall the involved officers. Instead, Mr. Kahn graciously hopes this case can be used as an example to address gaps that exist in our mental health systems and for police training.”

The SPD, in a news release this week, expressed gratitude to Parosa and his team for their thorough review, as well as to the partner agencies that assisted in the IDFIT investigation. They extended their condolences to the family and friends of Kahn, acknowledging the tragedy of losing a loved one and the complex challenges many face with mental health and substance use.

The officers injured in the attack have now returned to duty. Moving forward, SPD stated that it will initiate an administrative investigation and convene a Force Review Committee to examine the incident further.