Portland police officer charged with assault of photojournalist during 2020 protest
A Portland police officer who allegedly hit a photojournalist in the head with his baton during a protest last summer was indicted Tuesday.
Corey Budworth has been charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and accused of “unlawfully, knowingly and recklessly causing physical injury,” the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office announced.
On Aug. 18, Budworth, who was assigned to the Portland Police Bureau Rapid Response Team, “swung his truncheon like a baseball bat at (photojournalist Teri Jacobs), striking her several times,” according to a lawsuit she filed in September.
Jacobs, who had stopped in the street to help a fallen friend, claims she then tried to move to the sidewalk, but Budworth allegedly followed her, hitting her again with his baton in the back, neck and back of the head until she fell.
“As Ms. Jacobs was knocked to the ground, she was terrified that the officer was going continue to attack her, and she feared that she might never get up again if he continued with his violent attack,” reads the lawsuit, obtained by Willamette Week. “When Ms. Jacobs looked up to see if another blow would come, Officer 37 bashed Ms. Jacobs in the face with his truncheon.”
In February, Jacobs and the city reached a $50,000 settlement, as well as $11,000 in attorney fees.
“I want to start by thanking and acknowledging the Portland Police Bureau for their dedicated work on this investigation into one of their own,” Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said in a statement Tuesday after the charges were filed. “I further want to thank the many members of the Portland Police Bureau who have showed up night after night in response to civil demonstrations that have at times turned violent. Despite these pressures, these law enforcement professionals remained professional, and their actions lawful.
“But when that line is crossed, and a police officer’s use of force is excessive and lacks a justification under the law, the integrity of our criminal justice system requires that we, as prosecutors, act as a mechanism for accountability. Public trust requires nothing less.”
The Portland Police Association called the indictment a “politically driven charging decision” and said Budworth has been “caught in the crossfire of agenda-driven city leaders and a politicized criminal justice system.”
The union previously argued that Budworth had merely used his baton to “push” Jacobs out of the way.
