I had just closed the passenger door to the souped-up black Dodge Charger when I heard Baker City Police Officer Will Mercado say, “Dispatch, log a rider in my vehicle.”

A dispatcher responded, letting 616 — Mercado’s number — know that he was clear to proceed on his patrol on the morning of Aug. 22.

It was my first time in a police vehicle. Fortunately I got to sit in the front seat and not the back.

Although nothing dramatic happened during my six-hour ride along, the experience revealed the day-to-day work of a police officer.

Mercado is a longtime Baker resident.

He was born in Prairie City, moved to Baker when he was 7, then returned to Prairie City where he graduated from high school.

“I’ve always wanted to be a cop since I can remember,” he says.

Before joining the police academy more than two years ago, Mercado was a second-class petty officer in the U.S. Navy. Having deployed to the Middle East twice, once in 2014 and again in 2016, Mercado handled heavy weapons ordnance at Isa Air Base in Bahrain.

After deciding to not reenlist after his first deployment, Mercado had financial challenges from his ex-wife, so he decided to return to the Navy.

“Figured I’d give four years to the country I live in,” he says.

After his second stint in the military, Mercado has been with the Baker City Police for two years and two months.

He has had a lethal weapon pointed at him only once during his law enforcement career.

“I had a crossbow pulled on me once,” he says.

Mercado saw the brandished weapon through a fogged up camper van window, held by Bryan Christopher Keyes, who owned the camper but trespassed by entering it while was impounded.

Mercado said he and other officers interact on a nearly daily basis with homeless residents. Many have drug problems, he said.

“Meth isn’t the issue,” he said. “These days? It’s fentanyl.”

Mercado said there were three overdoses in the city in July. Due to the prevalence of opioids, and in particular the powerful synthetic fentanyl, Mercado carries two boxes of Narcan in his patrol car, and one in his uniform. The nasal spray can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

Mercado said he knows of several residents who have tried to overcome their addictions, through New Directions Northwest or another treatment program.

While patrolling, Mercado pointed out known drug houses as well as people he was familiar with.

He called dispatch and gave them the person’s name.

It was almost like a reflex.

All the people Mercado checked during the Aug. 22 patrol were “clear,” meaning there were no arrest warrants. He said the most typical charges are misdemeanors such as theft or trespassing. Most suspects are released soon after he takes them to the Baker County Jail.

Memorable cases

Although Mercado deals mainly with nonviolent crimes, he was involved in the most recent murder investigation in Baker City.

On July 13, 2022, Mercado was the first officer to respond to a report of a shooting in the parking lot near the Baker Technical Institute.

Cannon James Tally, then 17, twice shot Justin Rothenberger, killing the 16-year-old.

Tally admitted the crime during a July 31, 2023, hearing in Baker County Circuit Court. Because Tally was a juvenile at the time of the shooting, Judge Matt Shirtcliff sentenced him to MacLaren, Oregon’s youth detention facility, until his 25th birthday.

Mercado drove into the parking lot during his patrol on Aug. 22.

He described the details clearly, vividly, as though he was reliving those moments.

Mercado said Rothenberger’s girlfriend was sitting, sobbing, and cradling Rothenberger’s body. She asked Mercado to help.

Mercado remembers thinking that Rothenberger was clearly dead.

He was sent to arrest Tally later that Wednesday morning.

Mercado said he parked his patrol cruiser, the lights off, waiting for Tally to leave his house.

Mercado said he approached Tally after the suspect closed the front door of the house.

“He was walking towards me, I hoped he didn’t have the gun,” Mercado says.

Tally had asked someone to hide the pistol. Mercado arrested him without incident.

As he pulled out of the parking lot on Aug. 22, Mercado said the incident remains unique in his police career.