$562,129 Awarded to Oregon Man for Police Brutality
$562,129 Awarded to Oregon Man for Police Brutality
In the largest excessive force verdict in city history, an Oregon jury awarded a Portland man $562,129 on September 29, 2014.
In June 2011, Jason Cox was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving by Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers. During the arrest, police repeatedly punched Cox in the head and attacked him with a stun gun. Unbeknownst to police, the entire encounter was recorded on surveillance video. Contrary to the officers’ claims, Cox did not swing at the officers before they attacked him.
The PPB’s Internal Affairs division (IA) and the Independent Police Review committee (IPR) investigated the case in 2011. Yet, even with the video evidence, both found that the officers did not violate PPB policy or deserve discipline.
Cox then brought suit against the city in state court, seeking damages of $562.129. Following a four-day trial, on September 29, 2014, a Multnomah County jury found, by a vote of 9-to-3, that police committed battery against Cox and awarded him the full $562,129 he sought. Portland Mayor Charlie Hales said he disagrees with the Jury’s verdict but did not say if the city would appeal.
Amongst a list of PPB reforms approved by a federal judge in August 2014, use-of-force cases where juries rule against police will require full IA and IPR investigations. PPB spokesman Sergeant Pete Simpson quickly claimed that the clause was not clearly written, interpreting it to mean that a full investigation was not required, if a review has previously been conducted. Nevertheless, in light of the jury’s verdict, and “in the spirit of the agreement,” Simpson said IA will examine the evidence that was presented to the jury, because the PPB wants “to get it right.” If anything new and significant is discovered, IA COULD reopen its investigation, said Simpson.
Prior to this verdict, the largest excessive force award against the PPB was the December 2012 award of $306,000 for the 2010 false arrest, battery and malicious prosecution of Gallagher Smith, age 27. Of course, the PPB has agreed to substantially larger settlements, including the $2.3 million settlement paid to William Kyle Monroe, in April 2013. The bipolar man was permanently disabled when police mistakenly fired lethal rounds at him from a beanbag shotgun in June 2011. In May, 2010, the city also paid $1.6 million to settle a wrongful death action for the 2006 in-custody death of James Chasse, Jr., a 42-year old man that suffered from schizophrenia.
Source:The Oregonian
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Related legal case
Cox v. City of Portland
| Year | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Circuit Court of Oregon, County of Multnomah, Case no. 1304-05070 |
| Level | State |
| Conclusion | Jury Verdict |
| Damages | 562,129 |