Portland pays $100K to settle protest lawsuit

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The City Council in Portland, Oregon, has unanimously approved of paying $100,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed against police by a man who said he was pepper sprayed, thrown to the ground and unlawfully arrested during a September 2020 protest. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that 40-year-old Dmitri Stoyanoff sued the police, saying he was arrested because he refused to relinquish the “Vote Register Here” sign he was holding during a demonstration in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The settlement approved Wednesday is the latest in a string of payouts — totaling at least $335,000 this year — stemming from police actions during protests dating back to 2016.