The Complicated Story Of George Elwood Tschaggeny

PORTLAND, OR — Who is George Elwood Tschaggeny?

Just three weeks ago, hardly anybody knew his name. Walking around downtown, any number of people could have crossed his path and thought he was just another homeless man surviving in Portland. Few would have known the disheveled 51-year-old was a military veteran. Few would have expected the downtrodden, bedraggled man before them once had a happy life with a wife and several pet dogs. And even fewer would likely have guessed that in 2010 Tschaggeny was awarded a civilian medal from the Portland Police Bureau for courageous, selfless actions in the face of danger when he helped stop a runaway bank robber who was armed with a knife.

All of Tschaggeny's previous accomplishments and successes in life were unknown by the general public on the day he was arrested by police for allegedly taking a backpack and wedding ring from a dying man. On that day and for the whole week prior, Tschaggeny was a wanted man, generally thought to be the lowest of the low. (Sign up for our free daily newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Portland Patch)

According to Portland police officials, in the immediate aftermath of the May 26 TriMet stabbings — which saw Jeremy Christian grievously wound Micah Fletcher and fatally stab Ricky Best and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche after all three men came to the aid of two teenage girls who Christian was berating with insults and racial epithets — Tschaggeny took advantage of the chaos and stole Best's personal belongings, including the ring from his finger, while Best lay dying from multiple knife wounds.

Police on June 1 released surveillance footage from the Hollywood Transit Center, showing a man they say is Tschaggeny walking off the MAX with Best's backpack in hand. On June 2, an alert Dominos Pizza driver tipped police off to Tschaggeny's whereabouts — a small homeless encampment off Interstate-84, where police arrested him that same day.

Tschaggeny, over the course of several years and just a few chaotic, desperate minutes, went from loving husband and courageous former hero to homeless addict and "completely heartless" thief, according to police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson.

To make sense of this man and the abhorrent crime he allegedly committed, Oregonian/OregonLive reporters Samantha Matsumoto and Lynne Palombo dug into Tschaggeny's past in an article posted Sunday, June 11, and shared the troubled history of a man who seemingly had a good life but then lost it all.

Matsumoto and Palombo learned that Tschaggeny several years back developed an opiate addiction, which began with pills to ease pain in his knees and evolved into heroin.

It's not necessarily a new story — a person falling from grace by means of addiction — but it's one that has re-sparked a conversation in the Portland metro area and across the nation. And now that Tschaggeny's story is better understood, some social commenters have shown sympathy for him; others not so much.

Does it matter what happened in Tschaggeny's life that he would become so desperate as to steal from a dying man?

Should it matter?

According to Matsumoto and Palombo, Tschaggeny's ex-wife said he would never have done anything like this before his addiction — though she did add that he should face the consequences of his actions.

Tschaggeny has been charged with identity theft, theft, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse; he appeared in court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty. Tschaggeny's next court date is set for July 24.

Photo Courtesy: Multnomah County Sheriff's Office