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Portland Police Arrest and Hog-Tie Wrong Man in 1999 Case Almost two years after he was hog-tied, beaten, and falsely arrested by the Portland Police, Merrick Bonneau was finally offered a settlement check from the city of Portland--and promptly refused it. Bonneau's refusal of the $80,000 settlement is the latest development in what began as a case of misidentification and negligence by the Portland Police Bureau. Merrick Bonneau answered the door at his home in Northeast Portland on September 4, 1999 to find Portland Police Officers Brad Clifton and James Oakin. The officers were looking for Bonneau's half-brother, Mitchell, regarding a "domestic relations charge" (Oregonian, July 31). The officers say they asked Bonneau if he was "Mitch" to which he nodded and replied, "Yes." Merrick, however, insists that he repeatedly informed the cops that they had the wrong man and that the officers went so far as to refuse his identification when it was offered by another family member (Portland Tribune, August 7). Merrick reports that the officers threw him to the ground, cuffed his hands and legs, hog-tied him and dragged him to the patrol car. During this process, four more officers and a sergeant arrived at the scene. There are overwhelming differences in appearance between Merrick and his half-brother Mitchell. Merrick is of mixed heritage, 5'9", 150 pounds, with facial hair and no tattoos. Mitchell is Caucasian, 6'2", 200 pounds, with no facial hair and several tattoos. Despite these distinctions, all seven members of the Portland Police Bureau who eventually arrived on the scene failed to recognize that they were arresting the wrong Bonneau or even to check his I.D. They also failed to charge Bonneau until after he was processed at the Justice Center, still hog-tied and bleeding with a broken wrist, chipped elbow, dislocated shoulder and pinched nerve. Bonneau spent five hours in jail and was then released. Bonneau was charged with resisting arrest. He refused a plea bargain and was later acquitted of the charge by a Multnomah County jury. After this initial trial, Bonneau filed a $25 million lawsuit against the city of Portland and several police officers. The suit alleged violation of civil rights, tampering with witnesses, false arrest, battery and malicious prosecution. With legal counsel that Bonneau later charged was inadequate, he verbally agreed to an $80,000 settlement from the city at a hearing on September 11, 2000. Bonneau alleges that he was given no preparation for his settlement hearing and points out a rather obvious conflict of interest: his lawyer served as a Multnomah County corrections officer for 25 years. The settlement failed to address Bonneau's medical expenses or the loss of his wrestling scholarship to PCC, both direct results of the injuries he sustained during the arrest. Despite Merrick's insistence that he was "under duress" when agreeing to the settlement, City Council voted on Wednesday, August 22 to pay Bonneau the $80,000 and nothing more (Tribune, August 28). Bonneau plans to appeal the settlement.
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December, 2001
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People's Police Report
#25 Table of Contents
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