PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU/CNN) – A Portland police officer was indicted for misdemeanor assault in connection to a Black Lives Matter protest last August.
Officer Corey Budworth is charged with assaulting and injuring Teri Jacobs.
Jacob’s told KATU earlier this year that the hit left her with head, neck and back pain.
Tuesday, a Multnomah County grand jury indicted the six-year Portland police veteran after a month’s long investigation.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt reacted to that news. He said, “I think that this shows that today, nobody’s above the law, that the law applies and when people break the law, that they’ll be held accountable. I mean, we’ve indicted many protests cases and this is a case where the grand jury found that the officer used excessive force and he was indicted. So, you know, I think people are held accountable on both sides.”
Schmidt complemented Portland police detectives who handled Budworth’s case and others who have worked the demonstrations for the past year.
Schmidt hopes members of the law enforcement community respect the indictment and let the process play out.
The police union says Budworth accidentally hit Jacobs in the head, defending his conduct in the case. They pointed to the bad behavior of the demonstrators and said officers were just trying to clear people from the area.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.