Long time police accountability activist and former Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has accepted a $680,000 settlement from the city’s police union and two officers to resolve claims that officers passed along information that falsely implicated her in a hit-and-run. Hardesty’s original number was $3 million from the Portland Police Association. It included $1 million from Officer Brian Hunzeker and $1 million from Officer Kerri Ottoman.
It started with a fender bender that took place in March 2021 in Southeast Portland. The woman who reported the collision told a 911 dispatcher that she was certain Hardesty was the driver of a car that rear-ended her at an intersection. The woman said the driver fled the scene. But, turned out the driver was not JoAnn Bowman Hardesty. It was another Black woman from Washington.
Hardesty’s lawsuit was filed in December 2021. It accused former Portland Police Association president Brian Hunzeker of leaking the incorrect information to the media. Hunzeker resigned his position after this incident. The lawsuit also placed the city in its cross hairs claiming that city employees discriminated against Hardesty by sharing the false allegations. Hardesty’s complaint asked the city of Portland for $1.
In a statement shared with OPB, Hardesty said she was thankful the case has been resolved. “This settlement holds the Portland Police Association and the individuals accountable for their wrongful conduct and the unnecessary harm they caused,” Hardesty said. “While this settlement does not make me whole, I’m hopeful that shining a light on this unfortunate situation will prevent others from having this burden brought upon them.”
Hardesty has been a staunch critic of the police bureau and repeatedly called for greater oversight of the agency. It is her work around police issues that got her elected during the uprising connected to racial harmed caused to Blacks like George Floyd at the hands of police nationwide.
