A man tased by Portland police in 2008 was victorious when a federal jury recently ruled that the officer used excessive force and violated his constitutional rights.
Portland resident Dan Halsted, who has no criminal record, was tased five times in the back on June 17th 2008 at approximately one AM on Northeast Wasco Street after Officer Benjamin Davidson mistook him for a suspect in a nearby spray-painting incident and pursued him.
Halsted called the incident the most traumatic experience of his life.
He testified that Davidson had not identified himself as police, and when he heard someone behind him say “get him” and saw a shadowy figure begin to chase him, he ran in fear.
Halsted was tased in the back, and a fall to the pavement left him with facial fractures and other injuries to his face and hands.
Halsted’s lawyer, Joseph Grube, argued that even if the officer had identified himself and had been correct in assuming Halsted was a suspect, the use of a taser was disproportionate force for the crime of petty vandalism.
Officer Davidson’s testimony differed – he said that while responding to a report of vandalism on a building on Northeast Multnomah, he saw three men running towards him on Northeast Wasco.
He said that when he identified himself as police, two darted off, but one, who he said was Halsted, crossed the street and ran past him, leading Davidson to tase him.
Deputy City Attorney James Rice, who defended Davidson, called the officer’s actions reasonable under the circumstances, and said it was obvious that he was police, as he was in uniform and driving a marked car.
Rice asked about Halsted’s well-known kung fu film collection – Halsted is head programmer at the Hollywood Theatre – in an apparent attempt to portray him to the jury as someone interested in martial arts. Later, he implied that Halsted had been drunk during the incident. But despite this, after three hours deliberation, the jury ruled in Halsted’s favor.
He was awarded two hundred thousand dollars, for punitive damages, non-economic damages, and medical costs.
Today, KBOO’s Jenn Chavez spoke with Dan Handelman with Portland Copwatch, who placed the case in the context of the Portland Police Department’s past with tasers.
- KBOO