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50 Cops Quit Elite Unit After Officer
Indicted for Hitting Protestor in Head
Complaints, Lawsuits Continue Following Year of Racial Justice Uprising

While protests against police violence and racism have continued throughout 2021, the daily 2020 demonstrations that led national headlines continue to be in focus. The biggest news: in June, a grand jury indicted Officer Corey Budworth (#55392) for hitting Teri Jacobs in the head with a baton last August 18. While there are also charges pending for Officer Scott Groshong hitting a theft suspect with his car (PPR #82), the indictment of an officer for actions in the middle of a protest grabbed media and community attention. It also was apparently the last straw for Budworth and all 50 officers on the Bureau's Rapid Response Team (RRT), cops who volunteered for special training and duty to enforce crowd control including using special weapons. All of them resigned their positions on the Team shortly after the indictment was handed down, claiming they had been complaining about lack of support despite so many hours of work last year. No mention on their part of the 6000+ uses of force at protests in 2020 (PPR #83). So many lawsuits and complaints have trickled in about police actions at the protests it is hard to keep track of them all.

Considering that the US Department of Justice and Compliance Officer found Budworth's action amounted to use of deadly force, it is disappointing Budworth's indictment is for the fairly innocuous crime of misdemeanor fourth-degree assault, rather than a serious felony charge. The DA also asked the State Department of Justice to investigate Detective Erik Kammerer, accused of excessive force including hitting Elijah Warren in the back of the head outside Warren's house during a protest. Jacobs sued and agreed to accept $50,000 plus $11,000 in lawyer fees (Washington Post, June 16) via a judgment. Warren sued the city for $400,000 (Oregonian, May 28). In a cascading effect of the RRT resignations, the Multnomah Sheriff's version of the same unit said they would not police Portland protests, citing concerns raised by the Portland officers (Portland Tribune, June 23).

Doing his part to exhibit white male privilege, Mayor Ted Wheeler called on Portlanders to help "unmask" people who attend protests, in part by "noting the license plates of people who drive to the events and then don all black clothing and grab shields or weapons from their cars" (Oregonian, April 24). Surely nothing could go wrong by trying to turn community members into vigilantes for political reasons. Not that the police necessarily need the help: the Willamette Week reported (on June 2) that the Bureau was using informants to make arrests of people who engage in property damage. They quoted public defender Chris O'Connor as saying that having informants at protests who may actually be undercover cops is "completely bizarre" and "totally novel in my experience in Multnomah County."

Through former Mayor Sam Adams, who is now Director of Special Projects for the Mayor, Wheeler supported the highly questionable police tactic of kettling--surrounding protestors on all four sides to affect mass detentions (Oregonian, May 16)-- even though there are court cases pending challenging that strategy.

The "Independent" Police Review (IPR) continues to publish data on complaints received about officer misconduct at protests, with the July 7 Director's Report showing 273 complaints, 139 of which were about Force. A table shows 82 cases are being or have been investigated, while 44 were dismissed and four were sent to Precincts or Supervisors for review. IPR does not reveal the outcome of the cases. However, for example, the two Oregonian reporters mentioned in our last issue each posted that administrative investigations found no wrongdoing in either case. Beth Nakamura posted her findings letter to Twitter in January. Dave Killen posted an excerpt in which the police essentially told him he did not see what he saw when he accused officers of firing less lethal weapons randomly into a crowd already encased in smoke.

In addition to the closed lawsuit by Ms. Jacobs and the one opened by Mr. Warren, here are more reported in the media:

* Kristen Jessie-Uyanik and Lillian "Back" West sued the feds for shooting at the former in the head and wounding the latter's eardrum with a grenade (Oregonian, June 27);

* Donovan Labella, famously struck in the head by a federal munition and suffering severe head injuries, also announced plans to sue (Oregonian, June 6);

* Erin Wenzel, who was acting as a volunteer medic at protests when officers broke her arm by slamming her to the ground, is suing Portland for $500,000 (Portland Tribune, May 26); and

* Hanna Helm, who uses a wheelchair, is suing the PPB and Officer Brent Taylor, saying Taylor slashed the tires on her car and left her stranded for hours (Tribune, June 23).

We're sure this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

September, 2021
Also in PPR #84

Portland Copwatch
PO Box 42456
Portland, OR 97242
(503) 236-3065/ Incident Report Line (503) 321-5120
e-mail: copwatch@portlandcopwatch.org

Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.

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