Last week we reported on a federal lawsuit by a woman claiming she was beaten up by Portland police for little or no reason.
Turns out the cops’ version of the story — as laid out in police reports [PDF] released Dec. 30 — paints quite a different version of events in their 2006 encounter with Margarita Beutel, a 38-year-old real-estate loan originator from Northwest Portland.
According to written reports by officers Darrell Shaw and Mark Ellis, an apparently intoxicated Beutel cursed and spit at police while they detained her friend during a midnight traffic stop downtown.
Ellis’ report says he pulled over a silver Mercedes SUV after running its plates and finding an outstanding warrant for concealed weapons that appeared to match the car’s owner, Thomas Johnson. The names were the same but the dates of birth were different. Ellis went ahead and stopped the Mercedes.
While Ellis was patting down Johnson, the report says Beutel (who refused to give her name at the time and is not identified by name in the reports) left a black Jaguar she was driving and approached, telling Ellis to leave Johnson alone. When Beutel refused to back off, the report says, Ellis grabbed one of her arms and pushed her away. He asked Shaw, who had arrived as backup, to stand with Beutel.
Shaw’s report says based on his observations, Beutel “was intoxicated to the point she presented a danger to herself and others and needed to go to detox.” Meanwhile, Miles Hohnstein, a passenger in Johnson’s SUV, also was struggling with police and yelling he was “going to kick your ass,” Shaw’s report says.
According to Shaw, Beutel refused to step away and yelled “fuck you, you piece of shit.” Shaw says he attempted to hold her but she kept twisting in an attempt to pull away. Shaw forced Beutel to the ground on her knees, the report says, where she continued to cuss at him.
Beutel looked at Shaw, made eye contact and spit at him, hitting him in the chest, according to the report. Then Shaw says he “grabbed” Beutel by the back of the head, “forcing her head down on the trunk of my car to prevent her from spitting on me again.” Beutel “continued to yell and scream and attempt to turn her face towards me,” Shaw’s report says.
The end result? Johnson was released when the cops realized they had the wrong suspect on the warrant. Beutel was booked into the Multnomah County Jail on one count of misdemeanor harassment. A WW review of state court records turns up no convictions.
A use-of-force report by Shaw indicates neither he nor Beutel suffered any injuries. Beutel’s version is different, saying she suffered a broken nose and a concussion after Shaw and another officer, Matt Delenikos, shoved her into a concrete wall and threw her to the ground.
The Portland lawyer who filed the lawsuit, M. Christian Bottoms, has not returned repeated phone calls seeking comment. The lawsuit seeks an undisclosed sum.
Read about more Juicy Suits here.
- JUICY SUITS: An Alleged Beat-Down by Portland Police A real-es
- JUICY SUITS: Ringlers Ass-Beating Victim Sues McMenamins A Portlan
- UPDATE: JUICY SUITS: The Other Side To The Cop-Lawsuit Story After Jui
- JUICY SUITS: BridgePort Busboy Claims Sexual Harassment A former
- JUICY SUITS: Crushed in the Mosh Pit A girl fr
Mr. Pitkin,
Your two articles are full of errors, including the fact that I never heard from you even once.
Margarita Beutel