PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Vancouver, Wash., man is suing the city of Portland and the police officers who arrested him when he refused to let them dig through his pockets.
In the suit filed Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, the 31-year-old engineer, Jose Gasque, is seeking $180,000 for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.
The Oregonian reports he and a buddy were sitting on a curb in November 2009 when police asked them for identification, ran background checks and patted them down for weapons. They cooperated. But, when an officer said she was going to dig through their pockets, Gasque pulled out a copy of the ACLU’s “Know Your Rights” guide and said no.
He spent more than three hours in jail on a trespassing charge that was later dismissed.
