Posted on Jun 1, 2022
New federal lawsuits filed against law enforcement, city of Portland for actions during 2020...
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Plaintiffs describe being taken in unmarked vans, being deliberately shot at with rubber grenades and being wantonly hit on the head, among other complaints
Three federal civil rights lawsuits filed in recent days allege a litany of offenses by federal and local law enforcement during 2020 racial justice protests in Portland. The lawsuits describe multiple violations of protesters’ first, fourth, and fifth amendment rights stemming from incidents involving alleged enforced disappearances, retaliation, assault, battery and negligence.
The lawsuits come as the two-year statute of limitations for some civil rights complaints approaches this summer.
Three federal civil rights lawsuits filed in recent days allege a litany of offenses by federal and local law enforcement during 2020 racial justice protests in Portland. The lawsuits describe multiple violations of protesters’ first, fourth, and fifth amendment rights stemming from incidents involving alleged enforced disappearances, retaliation, assault, battery and negligence.
The lawsuits come as the two-year statute of limitations for some civil rights complaints approaches this summer.
New federal lawsuits filed against law enforcement, city of Portland for actions during 2020...
Posted from opb.org
Lawsuit
Portland
Police
Law Enforcement
Protest
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 3
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."In addition to the civil rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the officers, Vontillius also claims the city lacks proper supervisory review of use of force incidents. As a result, the lawsuit says there is no way to effectively correct “patterns of unlawful actions by PPB officers in a timely or effective fashion, and rarely categorizes such unlawful seizures as out of policy even when the force is clearly excessive or when the arrest was without sufficient legal justification.”
To back up this claim, the lawsuit cites examples as far back as 2017 of Portland police officers appearing to coddle far-right, pro-police demonstrators while using aggressive crowd control tactics against counter demonstrators. The complaint also cites the bureau’s 2020 protest after action review and the U.S. Department of Justice’s assessment that the bureau failed to adequately review use of force and enforce the bureau’s existing policies.
Juan Chavez, an attorney at the Oregon Justice Resource Center who is representing both Vontillius and Bassi, said in the Vontillius lawsuit, the city was “deliberately indifferent” to Kammerer’s actions.
“Did they have notice and did they still do the reckless thing?” Chavez asked in an interview with OPB. “What all these facts show is that they did have notice on oh so many fronts for years. And when it all came to the fore with Vontillius, that could have been avoided a long time ago.”
With the two year statute of limitations for some complaints approaching, Chavez said to expect more lawsuits in the near future."
..."In addition to the civil rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the officers, Vontillius also claims the city lacks proper supervisory review of use of force incidents. As a result, the lawsuit says there is no way to effectively correct “patterns of unlawful actions by PPB officers in a timely or effective fashion, and rarely categorizes such unlawful seizures as out of policy even when the force is clearly excessive or when the arrest was without sufficient legal justification.”
To back up this claim, the lawsuit cites examples as far back as 2017 of Portland police officers appearing to coddle far-right, pro-police demonstrators while using aggressive crowd control tactics against counter demonstrators. The complaint also cites the bureau’s 2020 protest after action review and the U.S. Department of Justice’s assessment that the bureau failed to adequately review use of force and enforce the bureau’s existing policies.
Juan Chavez, an attorney at the Oregon Justice Resource Center who is representing both Vontillius and Bassi, said in the Vontillius lawsuit, the city was “deliberately indifferent” to Kammerer’s actions.
“Did they have notice and did they still do the reckless thing?” Chavez asked in an interview with OPB. “What all these facts show is that they did have notice on oh so many fronts for years. And when it all came to the fore with Vontillius, that could have been avoided a long time ago.”
With the two year statute of limitations for some complaints approaching, Chavez said to expect more lawsuits in the near future."
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