City Council Will Hear Public Testimony in Protest Case That Attorneys Sought to Dismiss Because Plaintiff Could Not Prove Which Agency Fired Munition

Lydia Fuller alleged in a June 2020 complaint that a Portland police officer shot her in the chest with a projectile.

A Portland Police officer (center) whose name tag is covered, flanked by two Oregon State Police officers during a July 2020 protest. (Nikolai Ursin)
By Tess Riski

The Portland City Council will hear public testimony Jan. 19 before it votes to approve a $22,500 payout to a Tigard woman who filed a battery lawsuit against the city.

Lydia Fuller alleged in a June 2020 complaint that a Portland police officer shot her in the chest with a projectile from about half a block away as she fled a Black Lives Matter protest.

As WW first reported, the city agreed to the settlement with Fuller in October. The case garnered public scrutiny because the City Attorney’s Office sought to dismiss it on the grounds that Fuller could not prove that the officer who fired the munition was with the Portland Police Bureau and not the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office or Oregon State Police, agencies that assisted PPB during that protest.

In response to WW’s story detailing the city’s deposition of Fuller, state Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Clackamas) called the city’s line of questioning “unethical and disgusting to me.”

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