West Linn cop fired for wrongful arrest mulling lawsuit December 22 2020
Former West Linn Police Sgt. Tony Reeves was let go in June for conduct during Fesser case; no lawsuit filed yet.
Former West Linn Police Sgt. Tony Reeves issued a tort claim notice to the city of West Linn in October alleging he was wrongfully terminated from the city. No lawsuit from Reeves has been filed, though his attorney, Chris Mascal, said they had filed the tort notice to keep their options open. City is on notice that Reeves asserts that his termination was unfair, unprecedented and was merely asserted against him to shift blame and pacify the public regarding the bad press that the City received over Fesser s civil lawsuit(s), the tort notice reads.
WEST LINN, OR (KPTV) - The city of West Linn released the full 40-page independent investigation report into the police department and the cityâs response to a racially motivated wrongful arrest case.
OIR Group, an independent police oversight and review firm, conducted the investigation, centered around Michael Fesserâs tort claim and subsequent $600,000 settlement.
In February 2017, Fesser, a Black man, was pulled over by West Linn officers in Portland. Court records show that Fesser had previously brought up concerns of racial harassment to his boss at A&B Towing, and that boss called in a favor to a friend, then-West Linn Police Chief Terry Timeus.
Outside consultants blast West Linn’s cursory review of Michael Fesser’s wrongful arrest claims
Updated Jan 10, 2021;
Posted Dec 16, 2020
Fired West Linn Police Chief Terry Kruger claimed he had recused himself from the department s internal inquiry into Michael Fesser s allegations because of a personal relationship he had with Fesser s former boss. But Kruger repeatedly defended West Linn police actions and the arrest to the City Council and to the interim city manager.
Mark Graves/Staff
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West Linn made a “serious misstep” in failing to tap an outside agency to investigate shocking claims raised by Michael Fesser of Portland in his 2018 notice of plans to sue police and the city for wrongful arrest and racial discrimination, independent consultants say.