Federal officials close investigation on West Linn PD, racial discrimination claim KATU Staff
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The U.S. Attorney s office says the federal criminal investigation into the arrest of a Portland man, Michael Fesser, in 2017 has been closed due to finding insufficient evidence.
In a statement released on Friday, the office said, in part: In this case, under the applicable federal criminal civil rights laws, the government would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Fesser’s constitutional rights were violated and, if a violation occurred, the actions taken by law enforcement officers were willful.
Willfulness requires proof that an officer acted with the specific intent to do something the law forbids. It is not enough to show that an officer made a mistake, acted negligently, acted by accident or mistake, or even exercised bad judgment. Here, the government cannot prove that the manner in which Mr. Fesser was arrested violated
Oregon’s U.S. attorney won’t pursue criminal charges in Michael Fesser wrongful arrest case
Updated Feb 20, 2021;
Posted Feb 19, 2021
Three members of Congress last February had urged a federal inquiry into the actions of West Linn police in building a questionable theft case against Michael Fesser after The Oregonian/OregonLive revealed that West Linn had paid $600,000 to Fesser to settle his federal discrimination and wrongful arrest lawsuit.
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The U.S. Department of Justice won’t pursue criminal charges against West Linn police or anyone else after investigating the 2017 wrongful arrest of Portland resident Michael Fesser, Oregon’s U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams announced Friday.
DOJ won t pursue charges in wrongful arrest of Black man washingtontimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtontimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
West Linn city manager holding off on citizen petition demand to discipline captain for ‘cursory’ internal review of Michael Fesser’s arrest
Updated Feb 13, 2021;
Posted Feb 13, 2021
West Linn City Manager Jerry Gabrielatos said he’s holding off making a decision until he gives Capt. Oddis Rollins a chance to respond to concerns raised by outside consultants about the internal inquiry he conducted into Michael Fesser’s allegations.
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More than 240 people signed a petition started in West Linn urging the city to hold police Capt. Oddis Rollins accountable for a lackluster internal investigation into the arrest of Michael Fesser, a Black man from Portland who was accused of bogus theft charges in 2017.
Facebook post prompts West Linn cop to remove black velvet clown painting from his office at high school
Updated Feb 08, 2021;
Posted Feb 08, 2021
West Linn Police Officer Jeff Halverson, a school resource officer at West Linn High School, said he removed the black velvet clown face painting from his office, after a woman raised concerns about it on Facebook. “My office has to be an inclusive, welcoming place,” he told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
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depiction in a Facebook post that drew hundreds of responses.
Some people reacted by criticizing the concerns about the clown and blasting the woman who posted them for “shaming” the officer.