Herman Leslie Graham Iii

Herman Leslie Graham III, a 48-year-old Black man, was shot and killed in Salem, Oregon, on the afternoon of October 26, 2020. The fatal encounter began as a road rage incident that escalated after Graham and three women who were passengers in his car turned onto Mission Street SE from an I-5 off-ramp.

A witness in Graham's car said she suspected he may have cut off another vehicle, a gray Volkswagen. The driver of the Volkswagen, later identified as Manuel Elisha North, began honking his horn and yelling at Graham. He repeatedly pulled his car up next to Graham's and veered toward it as if trying to run him off the road. One passenger told police she heard North yelling racial slurs, including the N-word, and threatening that the "KKK is gonna come to get you."

Hoping the aggressive driver would leave, Graham pulled over in the 3300 block of Pipebend Place Northeast. North, however, parked his Volkswagen behind Graham's car. Graham got out of his vehicle, and shortly after, a passenger heard two loud gunshots in quick succession. When she looked up, she saw Graham lying on the ground. Salem police officers responded to reports of the shooting around 1:30 p.m. and found Graham deceased from multiple gunshot wounds.

Police detained North, a 46-year-old resident of Eugene, at the scene. North told officers he had acted in self-defense, claiming Graham had pulled a gun on him. Investigators found a handgun lying in the street behind North's car. One of the passengers reported that after the shooting, she saw North kick a black revolver that had been on the ground near Graham's feet.

North was arrested and later indicted by a Marion County Grand Jury on charges of second-degree murder, first-degree bias crime, and unlawful use of a weapon. Following a trial in May 2022, a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder but not guilty of the bias crime charge.

In June 2022, a judge sentenced Manuel North to life in prison. He must serve a minimum of 25 years before becoming eligible for parole.