Fesser said the arrest was retaliation for his complaints about a racially hostile work environment at a towing company.
Oregon’s U.S. attorney’s office is investigating whether any federal crimes were committed in the case.
KOIN first reported last week about West Linn Police Chief Terry Timeus after the City of West Linn settled a lawsuit from 2017 that claims Fesser was falsely accused and arrested.
The suit claimed it was all a favor for Fesser’s former boss, Eric Benson, the owner of A&B towing in Portland.
Court documents said Benson and Timeus were friends and fishing buddies. Benson wanted to deter Fesser from filing a lawsuit against his company for racial discrimination. There were reports Fesser’s co-workers referred to him as the n-word and taunted him with a confederate flag.
KOIN went to Benson’s home hoping to hear his side. A woman came to the door and locked it.
For people who live in West Linn, these accusations have been a hard pill to swallow. The room at last night’s city council meeting was packed. 20 people took to the mic to publicly express their outrage at the accusations of racism and cronyism.
Fesser and his attorney said Portland police officers assisted West Linn officers when they showed up in southeast Portland back in 2017 to arrest Fesser as he was on his way home from work.
Court documents reveal pages of text messages to back up that claim.
Prosecutors in both Multnomah and Clackamas Counties promised to look into the accusations.
Thursday, in a joint statement, both district attorneys said U.S. attorney Bill Williams agreed to assume the investigation and find out if federal crimes were committed.
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