PORTLAND — Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty is suing the Portland police union, its former president and a Portland police officer for $5 million, saying they leaked information last spring that erroneously identified Hardesty as the suspect in a hit-and-run.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the lawsuit seeks $3 million from the Portland Police Association and $1 million each from the union’s former president, Brian Hunzeker, and Police Bureau officer Kerri Ottoman. The lawsuit also seeks a single dollar from the city of Portland and a declaration that it violated Hardesty’s right to be free from “race-based distinctions, discrimination or restrictions.”
The defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the newspaper.
Willamette Week first reported the lawsuit Monday.
In a statement, Hardesty’s attorneys Matthew Ellis and Stephen Brischetto said city employees leaked the information to punish Hardesty for her opposition to “discrimination by the Portland Police against communities of color” and to force her out of office.
The lawsuit alleges that Hunzeker and Ottoman violated city policy and state law by leaking an erroneous report that Hardesty had been involved in a hit-and-run to The Oregonian/OregonLive and right-wing media.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants’ decision was racially motivated to target Hardesty, the first Black woman to serve on Portland’s City Council.
