camerabarpolice.jpg

Portland's City Council has agreed to pay a Gresham woman $10,000 to settle a lawsuit she brought after Portland police mistakenly stopped her Honda as a stolen vehicle using spike strips, sending her vehicle onto the shoulder of the road.

(The Oregonian/File)

The city has agreed to pay a Gresham woman $10,000 after police mistook her Honda for a stolen car and placed spike strips in her path, flattening both tires and sending her car off the roadway onto the shoulder.

The payout, approved by the City Council on Wednesday, will settle a personal injury lawsuit she brought against the city in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

The driver, Sophia Holmes, was ordered out of her car at gunpoint and placed on the ground. She alleged in her lawsuit that the improper stop occurred after a Portland officer put the wrong license plate number in his mobile computer.

The incident occurred Jan. 10. Portland police Officer Christopher Gjovik was patrolling the area of Southeast 148th Avenue and Powell Boulevard when he read the license plate of Holmes' car.

He put the wrong numbers into his mobile computer and reported to a fellow officer that Holmes' car was stolen, according to the lawsuit.

"After falsely reporting that the plaintiff was operating a stolen motor vehicle, Officer David Arnold deployed spike strips as the plaintiff's vehicle passed his location,'' the suit said.

Holmes had been on her way home from work when her front tires suddenly were flattened and her Honda veered onto the shoulder. She was then ordered out of the car in a felony stop, placed on the ground and detained, her lawyer Josephine Townsend wrote in the suit.

Holmes' suit alleged false arrest, reckless endangerment, negligence. She had sought $10,000 in economic damages, plus more in non-economic damages.

The city acknowledged police mistakenly stopped Holmes' vehicle, but said it was because "its make, model and license plate number closely resembled a car on the 'hot sheet' of stolen vehicles.''

Both sides reached the settlement after mediation.

Holmes' lawyer said her client is satisfied with the settlement.

"This incident was clearly a mistake on the part of the officers. While they may have had good intentions, the results were damaging to Ms. Holmes, a completely innocent driver on her way home from work,'' Townsend said. "We are hopeful that training and better communications between officers engaged in critical situations will reduce or eliminate these types of events from occurring in the future.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian