Portland officer indicted over alleged assault during George Floyd protest

A Portland police officer was indicted over an alleged assault during a protest after George Floyd’s murder last year, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.

MCDA issued a statement on Tuesday saying that a grand jury had indicted former Portland Police Bureau officer Corey Budworth for his role in a confrontation with protesters. 

Budworth is accused of striking a woman in the head during a protest last August.  

The Portland Police Association issued a statement defending Budworth’s tactics, saying that he accidentally struck the woman, identified as Teri Jacobs, on the head and added that he was “caught in the crossfire of agenda-driven city leaders and a politicized criminal justice system.” 

“He faced a violent and chaotic, rapidly evolving situation, and he used the lowest level of baton force—a push; not a strike or a jab—to remove Ms. Jacobs from the area,” the association said in its statement. 

Budworth, who worked on the department’s Rapid Response Team, was charged with one count of fourth-degree assault.

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said in a statement that Budworth’s actions on that day were unlawful. 

“But when that line is crossed, and a police officer’s use of force is excessive and lacks a justification under the law, the integrity of our criminal justice system requires that we, as prosecutors, act as a mechanism for accountability,” Schmidt said. 

The city of Portland has been the center of civil unrest between the community and police since the killing of the 46-year-old Floyd last May by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted in April. Floyd’s death sparked a social justice and police reform movement across the country and in other parts of the world as well.