Every member of the Portland Police Bureau’s rapid response team has resigned.
The unit, which consists of police officers who volunteer to respond to riots and civil unrest, voted unanimously during a meeting with the police union to step down following the indictment of officer Corey Budworth.
“Unfortunately, this decorated public servant has been caught in the crossfire of agenda-driven city leaders and a politicized criminal justice system,” the police union said in response to the indictment charges.
Budworth was a member of the rapid response squad that responded to an antifa-led riot on Aug. 18, 2020. Participants threw objects at the county sheriff’s department headquarters at the riot, including a flammable Molotov cocktail.
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When the officers were dispersing the riot, Budworth allegedly struck activist photographer and rioter Teri Jacobs with a baton. Videos of the incident led to him being indicted and charged with one count of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor, for “unlawfully, knowingly and recklessly causing physical injury” to Jacobs.
Budworth’s use of force was “legally excessive,” according to Multnomah District Attorney Mike Schmidt’s office.
“In this case, we allege that no legal justification existed for Officer Budworth’s deployment of force and that the deployment of force was legally excessive under the circumstances,” Schmidt said Tuesday. “My office will continue to do everything we can to ensure justice is done without error or delay and that we make sure our work and practices are rooted in fairness and equity.”
However, the Portland Police Bureau’s own investigation of the incident determined the officer’s use of the baton was “not intentional.”
The “push” to Jacobs’s head was “accidental,” compliance officer Dennis Rosenbaum wrote in his investigative report.
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The indictment came after Jacobs filed a civil rights and battery lawsuit in September.
“Ms. Jacobs posed no threat to the officer at any time, and she had not committed any crime nor was she being lawfully arrested or detained,” her attorney Juan Chavez argued in the lawsuit. “When the officer noticed he had been caught committing this vile act on camera, he quickly composed himself and walked away as if nothing happened. An entire squad of Portland Police Officers witnessed this act, failed to intervene, and allowed this officer to walk away after committing a violent crime against Ms. Jacobs.”
According to court papers, the city has agreed to pay Jacobs $50,000, plus $11,000 in attorney fees, as part of a settlement.
