Man Sues Portland Claiming Wrongful Beating at Protest

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Portland man has filed a lawsuit against city of Portland and a police officer over his claims that he was wrongfully attacked and hurt during a protest last year.

In a press conference Tuesday, Elijah Warren said he was talking to an officer on Sept. 5 about tear gas seeping into his nearby home when another officer came up from behind and clubbed him with a baton, KPTV reported.

According to Warren, he had been home with his son and his son’s friend when tear gas came inside their house, causing them to start yelling while trying to clear out their eyes with water.

“I went outside to find a police officer to find out what was going on, and that’s when I got assaulted,” Warren said. “I was hit behind my ear with a police baton, and it busted up the whole right side of my ear, and I had to get stitches.”

Warren’s lawyer, Jason Kafoury, said the attack was completely unprovoked and unwarranted.

The lawsuit seeks $400,000 in damages and claims the city was negligent for not providing the officer adequate training and not disciplining him for what it calls “past misuses of force” on the job.

Fox 12 reached out to the Portland Police Bureau, which referred them to the city of Portland for comment. The city did not immediately respond.