Police union to pay nearly $700,000 to former official who pushed to defund department – Law Officer

Portland, Oregon – A radical former Portland city commissioner that previously said that police “saboteurs” were starting fires and infiltrating the crowds of protesters who took over Portland’s streets for more than 100 consecutive nights is now receiving $680,000 after a 911 caller falsely identified her as a suspect in hot and run accident.

Jo Ann Hardesty’s lawsuit seeking $5 million was scheduled to go to trial this week. A jury would have been asked to decide if police racially discriminated against Hardesty, the first Black woman to serve as a Portland city commissioner and a staunch advocate for defunding the police in 2020.

The police union in Portland, Oregon, and two officers agreed to pay a former city commissioner $680,000 to settle claims that they leaked information falsely implicating her in a hit-and-run.

The city of Portland settled its portion of the lawsuit in August for $5,000 and a written apology from Mayor Ted Wheeler.

The dispute began in March 2021 when a 911 caller mistakenly identified Hardesty as the driver who rear-ended her and fled the scene.

A Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officer leaked the accusation to an activist friend who later shared the information on a livestream, an internal review conducted last year found. The lawsuit also claimed that-union president Brian Hunzeker also leaked the false information to a reporter.

Hardesty and police had a fraught relationship during her tenure as commissioner.

She spearheaded efforts to slash PPB’s funding as social unrest rocked Portland in 2020, though the bureau’s budget is now nearly $20 million higher than before the protests.

Hardesty lost re-election in November to political newcomer Rene Gonzalez, who ran as a centrist and supporter of law and order.

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