A convicted murderer who gunned down a 19-year-old girl has sparked community outrage after being voted back onto the city’s police review board. 

Kyle Hedquist, 47, was jailed for life without parole for murdering Nikki Thrasher in 1994. 

The Oregon native led Thrasher down a remote road and shot her in the back of the head to prevent her from telling people about a burglary spree he had embarked on. 

Hedquist was released in 2022, with former governor Kate Brown arguing that he was 17 at the time of the crime, which means 'he shouldn't be locked up for life.'

Now, the Salem City Council has reappointed Hedquist in a five-to-four vote on December 8, despite his 27-year sentence for the execution-style killing.

The Board reviews police conduct complaints and makes policy recommendations to the enforcement.

The 47-year-old was also appointed to the Citizens Advisory Traffic Commission and the Civil Service Commission, an advisory board that oversees traffic and fair employment issues, according to KATU2.

Kyle Hedquist, 47, is facing scrutiny after he was reappointed to Salem's police oversight board

Ward 6 City Councilor Mai Vang, left, said she believes Hedquist deserves a second chance and will override the recommendation to leave the seat vacant

Nikki Thrasher, she was born in Oregon in March 1975 and died in 1994

Board members also train with police and participate in ride-alongs to understand how officers operate. 

Backlash has erupted in the blue-state city, with rising concerns voiced by the Salem Police Employee's Union and other council members. 

'To think that we're providing education on kind of how we do what we do to someone with that criminal history, it just doesn't seem too smart,' the association's president Scotty Nowning told KATU2.

Nowning emphasized that the concerns stem from fixing the city’s oversight structure and are not necessarily about Hedquist. 

'If you move him off there, if you don't change your guardrails or what the requirements are to be on there, you could just put someone else on there with you know equal criminal history or worse,' he told the outlet.

Salem Professional Fire Fighters Local 314 even created a website to slam the decision. 

'As police and fire professionals in the Salem community, we are asking Salem residents to stand with us,' the site read in part.

'Tell [the council] to reconsider this decision and fix the mess that they created.'

Other committee members opposed Hedquist's reappointment, but Councilor Mai Vang approved it.

Past governor Kate  Brown granted clemency to dozens of people, including Hedquist