PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A group of off-duty Portland police officers allegedly assaulted a woman and pulled down her dress after falsely accusing her of stealing another woman’s wallet at an August 2015 wedding, according to a lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed April 6 claims Patrick Mawdsley and Matthew Ginnow with Portland Police Bureau were among a large number of officers at the Boring wedding.
Nearly all of them were reportedly drinking alcohol at the event. But things reportedly turned violent when an officer’s wife accused the alleged victim of stealing her wallet.
The victim “explained that the wallet sticking out of her purse had obviously been placed there by accident,” according to the lawsuit. After putting the wallet onto a table, the victim said she and her husband were “immediately attacked” by a group of Portland police officers, including Mawdsley and Ginnow.
Some officers accused the victim and her husband of being “a bunch of f***ing Russians,” the lawsuit alleges.
The victim’s husband then reportedly said “it was ridiculous to think that anyone would try to steal a purse at a police wedding.”
After that, one of the officers grabbed the victim and began shaking her, according to the lawsuit. Then another officer allegedly rushed at her from behind, knocking her into another officer who is said to have shoved her to the ground.
Once on the ground, an officer allegedly “held [the victim] down with one hand across her throat, saying, ‘I’m going to f***ing kill you.'” The lawsuit claims the officer was using his hand to apply pressure to her windpipe.
The victim was reportedly able to get up after that, but another officer allegedly pushed her from behind, causing her to hit her head on a pole.
She reportedly sustained a cut on her head as a result of the fall.
As she tried to walk away, an officer “pulled down on her strapless dress,” exposing her down to her waist. That’s when she said she was going to call the police.
“We are the police,” one of the officers allegedly replied.
The victim’s husband said he then tried getting some of the officers’ names.
“Go ahead and call Clackamas County,” one of them allegedly said. “I’ll tell them that your wife punched me in the face. Who do you think they’re going to believe?”
The victim is suing Mawdsley, Ginnow and the City of Portland for $400,000 in damages, $7,500 in past medical expenses and $5,000 in future medical expenses.
A PPB spokesperson told KOIN 6 News Mawdsley and Ginnow are both assigned to East Precinct. Mawdsley is an 11-year veteran and Ginnow is a 7-year veteran.
“As per policy, we do not comment on pending litigation. We also do not comment on administrative investigations, whether the allegations were sustained or not.” – Sgt. Christopher Burley