Skip to main content
The ACLU of Oregon today announced a settlement of a lawsuit against TriMet and the cities of Portland and Gresham.
The representatives of all three were involved in a 2013 incident filmed by Carrie Medina, a citizen journalist. Medina is a co-founder of Film the Police Portland, an accountability group.
A video Medina took shows what happened—a Gresham police officer approached her and demanded her phone to see whether there was evidence of a crime in her video. When Medina questioned whether he had legal authority to do so, the other seized her phone and twisted her arm.
Today's settlement includes the requirement that all Gresham and Portland police officers receive training on citizens' right to film officers.
The city of Gresham also had to pay Medina's $85,000 in legal fees.
Oregon law allows people to film police activity, provided that filming does not impede police or interfere with traffic, although officers do not always obey that law.
"We still see arrests, detentions, and seizures simply for filming the police," ACLU legal director Mat dos Santos said in a statement. "With this settlement, we hope that law enforcement across the state will finally respect the public's right to record. Otherwise, we'll see them in court again."