PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Multnomah County jury has awarded $30,500 to a man who was zapped with a stun gun by a Portland police officer inside a Denny’s restaurant.
Jurors decided Friday that the officer’s action amounted to battery.
Jason Elgin had sued the city for more than $300,000 on claims of battery, false arrest and malicious prosecution.
Elgin’s lawyer Greg Kafoury says his client and a friend fell asleep in the restaurant, exhausted after studying for college exams. The restaurant manager called police to help wake them up.
KGW-TV says jurors decided Officer Kevin Tully had a right to arrest Elgin but believed the officer went too far when he used a stun gun twice on the man.