PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon officials have released a memo with a statement from a Portland police sergeant where he admitted to deliberately misrepresenting the law to keep a protester from filming him and claimed other officers do the same.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Tuesday that the statement by Sgt. Erin Smith is part of an investigation of a complaint filed by a Benjamin Kerensa who was filming police during a demonstration in front of Portland oil refineries over the Dakota Access Pipeline in November 2016.
The complaint was investigated by the city’s Independent Police Review office.
Police Chief Danielle Outlaw says Smith violated bureau policy by misleading Kerensa on his rights and improperly threatening to arrest him.
Smith is expected to face discipline on those grounds.