XPost: alt.politics.clinton, alt.journalism, alt.politics.conservative   
   XPost: talk.politics.misc   
   From: democrat.racism@nbc.com   
      
   A black man from Oregon sued the city of West Linn alleging that   
   police officers unlawfully surveilled him at work and then   
   falsely arrested him in retaliation for having raised complaints   
   with his employer about racial discrimination.   
      
   Michael Fesser of Portland claimed in the suit, an amended   
   version of which was filed last month in U.S. District Court in   
   Portland, that the incident left him suffering from emotional   
   distress and resulted in economic damages. He sued the city and   
   several members of the West Linn Police Department for false   
   arrest, malicious prosecution, defamation and invasion of   
   privacy.   
      
   West Linn police began investigating Fesser in February 2017   
   after Fesser raised concerns to his boss, Eric Benson, owner of   
   A&B Towing, that he was being racially discriminated against at   
   work.   
      
   According to separate court documents, Fesser said the   
   discrimination included coworkers' calling him racial slurs.   
   After he raised his concerns, Benson contacted West Linn Police   
   Chief Terry Timeus, his friend, and persuaded to look into   
   allegations that Fesser had stolen from the company, according   
   to the lawsuit.   
      
   The suit said the theft allegations were false and   
   unsubstantiated.   
      
   But with the approval of West Linn police Lt. Mike Stradley,   
   Detectives Tony Reeves and Mike Boyd used audio and video   
   equipment to watch Fesser while he was at work, according to the   
   suit. The surveillance was "conducted without a warrant or   
   probable cause" and did not result in any evidence that Fesser   
   was stealing from his employer, the lawsuit stated.   
      
   Regardless, West Linn officers, with the help of Portland police   
   officers, arrested Fesser days later based on Reeves' and   
   Stradley's "false representations" to Portland police that they   
   had probable cause for an arrest.   
      
   "Sgt. Reeves and Sgt. Boyd unlawfully arrested, detained and   
   interrogated Mr. Fesser in Portland, outside their jurisdiction,   
   without probable cause," the suit said, adding that the two   
   officers took Fesser's personal belongings, including papers   
   expressing his concerns about racial discrimination at work.   
      
   Fesser spent about eight hours at the police station before he   
   was released on his own recognizance. He was later contacted by   
   West Linn police to come to the station to retrieve some of his   
   belongings. While he was there, officers informed Fesser that he   
   had been fired from his job, according to the lawsuit.   
      
   "The West Linn Defendants' surveillance, arrest, incarceration   
   and interrogation of Mr. Fesser without a warrant or probable   
   cause and their pursuit of baseless criminal charges against Mr.   
   Fesser were racially motivated, retaliatory, extra-   
   jurisdictional and an egregious abuse of the power with which   
   the police are entrusted," the suit said.   
      
   According to the lawsuit, criminal charges in the arrest weren't   
   filed until after Fesser sued his employer over his termination   
   and for discrimination. The charges were later dismissed.   
      
   During the litigation in the lawsuit against his employer,   
   Fesser learned that the West Linn police investigation into the   
   alleged theft began as a favor to his former boss, according to   
   the suit. Text messages revealed during the legal proceedings   
   showed that Reeves and Benson discussed the investigation.   
      
   In one message, Reeves said Fesser should be arrested before he   
   went further with his racial discrimination complaint against   
   his job so it would not look like retaliation.   
      
   The City of West Linn has since settled the lawsuit and agreed   
   to pay Fesser $600,000. The lawsuit against his employer was   
   settled in March 2018 for $415,000.   
      
   Paul Buchanan, Fesser's attorney, said his client is pleased   
   that both cases have been resolved.   
      
   "He is doing fine," Buchanan said. "This was not about money for   
   him. This was about that they should not be allowed to do this."   
      
   According to Buchanan, the settlement against the police   
   department could be the largest in the state for a wrongful   
   arrest.   
      
   A&B Towing and the Portland Police Department did not   
   immediately return requests for comments.   
      
   The West Linn Police Department said the settlement "is not an   
   admission of liability."   
      
   "The City of West Linn and the West Linn Police Department do   
   not tolerate any acts of discrimination or disparate treatment   
   by its employees," the department said in a press release. "In   
   2018, when the allegations were first reported, an internal   
   investigation was conducted and swift and appropriate   
      
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