Opening statements got underway Tuesday in Multnomah County at the one of the first civil trials against the city of Portland to allege unreasonable police violence during the 2020 racial justice protests. The case is being watched closely by civil rights attorneys as a potential bellwether for the more than a dozen cases coming in the trial’s wake.
The first lawsuit against Portland police officers for their treatment of protesters in 2020 has reached its day in court. The case comes from Erin Wenzel, a care coordinator at Oregon Health and Science University who attended a racial justice protest with her husband on August 14, 2020. Wenzel, who lives in Beaverton, attended the North Portland protest as a volunteer medic, bringing first aid supplies to help any injured demonstrators. She identified this role.
Civil rights attorneys are paying close attention because the outcome could answer questions about the potential liability the city faces over similar cases