Off-duty officer grabbed woman’s groin and pulled her hair at bar, Oregon cops say
An off-duty police sergeant is accused of grabbing a woman’s groin and pulling her hair at an Oregon sports bar, authorities said.
The 46-year-old supervisor at the Portland Police Bureau was arrested on Dec. 15 in connection with the October incident, a Dec. 15 news release from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.
The officer, a 23-year veteran with the bureau, was placed on administrative leave, according to a Dec. 15 news release from Portland police.
“As law enforcement officers, we are held to a higher standard,” Portland police Chief Chuck Lovell said in the release. “In order to preserve the public trust, we are informing the community of this incident. Now we must allow time for a complete and thorough investigation to proceed.”
The day after the incident, deputies responded to Toby’s Sports Pub in Metzger on Oct. 29 about a “sex abuse call,” the sheriff’s office said. Metzger is a small community 9 miles southwest of downtown Portland.
A woman told deputies “she had been inappropriately touched and had her hair pulled the night before” by another person at the bar, the sheriff’s office said.
After speaking with the woman and witnesses, as well as reviewing surveillance video, deputies found a man “unwantedly touched” the woman’s groin and “pulled her hair,” the sheriff’s office said.
The officer was identified as the man from the bar, the sheriff’s office said.
The officer “was cited and released,” the sheriff’s office said. He was charged with third-degree sex abuse and harassment, Portland police said.
