Vancouver police arrest Portland police officer for alleged burglary and assault

Vancouver police on Monday arrested a Portland police officer on suspicion of three felony crimes.

James Botaitis, a 10-year veteran assigned to Portland’s East Precinct, was booked into the Clark County Jail on Monday and is being held without bail, an officer said.

According to a Portland Police Bureau bulletin, Botaitis was arrested on suspicion of burglary-domestic violence as well as second-degree assault and criminal harassment not related to domestic violence.

He will make his first appearance in Clark County Superior Court at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

The Oregonian reports that Botaitis was one of two officers named in a 2009 lawsuit filed by a then-47-year-old woman whose arm was broken after police put her in a control hold as her minivan was being towed from her Portland condo. The woman was awarded $18,500 in a settlement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.