The entire Portland Police Bureau’s Rapid Response Team has resigned in protest of a fellow officer who was charged with assault. The charge alleges that the officer used “illegal use of force during a protest last year.”
All 50 officers resigned last Wednesday after a grand jury found officer Corey Budworth guilty. While all the officers are still a part of the Portland police department and will continue to work there, they have resigned from the specialized unit which focuses on crowd-control at events including protests, which was a voluntary position.
Budworth was found guilty of fourth-degree assault. District Attorney Mike Schmidt spoke after the trial. “In this case, we allege that no legal justification existed for Officer Budworth’s deployment of force and that the deployment of force was legally excessive under the circumstances,” he said.
In a press release on Facebook, the Portland Police criticized the decision calling it a “politically driven charging decision” in which Budworth was “caught in the crossfire of agenda-driven city leaders and a politicized criminal justice system.” The rest of the post goes on, in detail, explaining how and why Budworth was charged, all while maintaining that the officer was not guilty.
This is the first time an officer has faced prosecution for striking someone at a protest.
