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Noffsinger told investigators that he was compelled to make his complaint against Christensen because of her characterization of the incident and, in part, to protect his image during a time of turmoil in the Cornelius Police Department.

(2008 file photo)

A Hillsboro police officer and a Cornelius cop met during a road-rage incident in Forest Grove in the spring of 2012.

Their versions of what occurred on the roadway that May diverge at multiple points, but both describe a heated exchange. Both officers, according to their allegations, drove badly and used their middle fingers at one another on their commutes to work.

Hillsboro Detective Kari Christensen has alleged that former Cornelius Assistant Chief Joe Noffsinger, now a lieutenant, got in her face, shouted at her and later intimidated her during other roadway meetings. This summer, Christensen filed a tort claim against Noffsinger and the city of Cornelius.

Records released to The Oregonian last week detail a complaint Noffsinger made with Hillsboro police alleging that Christensen lied in a memo she wrote about the incidents. Noffsinger told investigators that he was compelled to make the complaint because of Christensen's characterization of the incident and, in part, to protect his image during a time of turmoil in the Cornelius Police Department.

"In 18 years, I've never done this," he told Hillsboro police, referring to the incident and the duration of his career. "In 18 years, I -- this has to come out right in the middle of all this other garbage that's going on in Cornelius and I haven't been able to speak my side of the story. The Oregonian keeps putting my name in the paper every other week and associated with (then-Cornelius police chief) Paul (Rubenstein) and a lot of stuff that Paul did."

Noffsinger made his complaint with Hillsboro police after he first read Christensen's memo and was told it would likely be disclosed to The Oregonian, records show.

"So my -- my biggest concern is that in reading this the way that she writes this, it's such a negative light on -- on me," Noffsinger told Hillsboro police during his interview."And you know, it sounds like I'm being self-serving here. That my -- my whole purpose is to protect my own reputation. And, you know, to be honest with you, in part that's exactly what it is. It is to protect my reputation."

But, Hillsboro police determined Noffsinger's claim was unfounded after he recanted the untruthfulness accusation, the documents say, and chalked-up the differences in their stories to perception.

Two versions of events

Noffsinger and Christensen wrote separate memorandums about their initial May 24, 2012, encounter on Forest Grove's 19th Avenue.

According to Christensen's account, here is what happened:

Christensen was headed to work east on 19th Avenue in her unmarked gray Honda Civic. She signaled, switched lanes and noticed a large blue Dodge pickup speed up behind her, nearly rear-ending her car. The driver honked, flipped her off, and tailgated her, she wrote. She put her hand up.

At a stoplight the truck's driver -- later identified as Noffsinger -- flashed his police badge at Christensen. She wrote that Noffsinger directed her to pull over. He followed her into a parking lot, where they both got out of their vehicles and argued.

Christensen, who was pregnant at the time, told Noffsinger she was also a cop and showed him her police identification card. Noffsinger yelled and cursed in Christensen's face, insisting that she improperly switched lanes, her memo says.

Noffsinger reportedly told Christensen that if he were in a patrol car, he would issue her a citation. She responded that he could still cite her. He replied that he would deal with the situation later.

They both drove off. When Christensen arrived at work, she told her sergeant about the incident.

According to Noffsinger, this is what occurred:

Noffsinger was traveling east on 19th Avenue when a gray car cut him off. He hit his brakes and honked at the driver.

He had accelerated because a car turned off the roadway in front of him, and he had sped back up to the speed limit. His diesel truck may have sounded loud, but it wasn't going fast.

The car's driver -- later identified as Christensen -- twice flipped him off, he wrote.

At a stoplight, Noffsinger flashed his police badge at the driver, who then mouthed, "I have one, too."

Noffsinger asked the driver if she wanted to pull over to talk about what happened. They drove into a parking lot, where things didn't go any better. They argued.

Christensen told Noffsinger she worked for Hillsboro police. She insisted that Noffsinger had flipped her off.

Noffsinger told her, "You are so full of (expletive)." He said he was done.

They both drove off, east on Pacific Avenue. Noffsinger told his chief about the incident, and afterward, he didn't hear much else about the matter.

Other encounters

Christensen documented that she again saw Noffsinger, driving on Pacific Avenue, on June 7, 2012. According to her memo, he spotted Christensen, drove next to her with no vehicles in front of him, and stared at her, apparently trying to intimidate and harass the detective.

That July, she told her supervisors she thought their encounters were a coincidence, and she did not believe Noffsinger was stalking her.

After Noffsinger filed his complaint with Hillsboro police -- and before Christensen filed her tort claim this summer -- she documented another alleged incident involving him. She wrote that she thought Noffsinger began following her in a vehicle while she was driving home from work on June 25 this year. She again reported the incident to her supervisors.

In her July tort claim against Noffsinger and the city of Cornelius, Christensen alleged Noffsinger caused her distress during the incidents and has made her fear for her safety. She alleges that she looked to other officers for protection during her commutes.

The notice says Christensen intends to file suit based on state and federal claims, including defamation, stalking, intentional infliction of emotional distress and unlawful seizure of a person.

Cornelius Police Chief Ken Summers said he and the city reviewed the alleged June 25 incident, and Noffsinger denies Christensen's accusations. Noffsinger insists he has never seen Christensen since their first meeting, Summers said, and if she saw him, it was a chance encounter.

Noffsinger has admitted he made mistakes during the May 2012 encounter with Christensen, Summers told The Oregonian, and his actions during the incident with Christensen were part of the reason the city demoted him from his assistant chief position.

Noffsinger declined to comment.

Noffsinger's interview

On March 5, 2013, Noffsinger made his complaint about Christensen with her agency.

He told then-Hillsboro Commander John Schmerber that the content in Christensen's memo was a lie, records say. Two days later, Schmerber told Noffsinger that Hillsboro police would investigate his claims. The agency treated his allegations as a standard resident complaint.

Hillsboro Sgt. Ted Schrader and Sgt. Neil Potter interviewed Noffsinger on March 28. Noffsinger told the sergeants that he was not happy with Christensen's characterization of what occurred. He said he understood Christensen would have her own perceptions, but the way she expanded on the incident made him appear to be a "road rage monster."

"And, some of this stuff, it's not perception," Noffsinger said of her memo. "It's fabrication."

Noffsinger told investigators he never flipped Christensen off, and, at times, said he did not curse at her during the encounter. He later clarified, after a sergeant inquired, that telling Christensen, "You're full of (expletive)" was, in fact, swearing. But he did not use any other curse words as she alleges, he said.

The investigators asked Noffsinger if he stopped Christensen because he believed she flipped him off. Noffsinger told investigators he stopped Christensen because of her driving and, in part, because he was not positive that she was really a cop, based on her behavior. He wanted to make sure she was not an impersonator.

Throughout his interview, Noffsinger became frustrated by Christensen's claims. On multiple instances, he refuted the cursing allegations, stating he does not talk that way. Noffsinger mentioned multiple times that he worried how the memo would affect his reputation if it were released to the media.

"If this goes out to the public, I'm going to have some serious issues because it paints me into a very bad light," he told investigators. "And with all things that are going on right now -- I don't need this additional stuff coming out."

During the interview, Noffsinger adamantly denied the allegation that he harassed Christensen a couple weeks after the first incident.

"It's just a crock of bull," he said.

Schrader told Noffsinger that he was investigating to determine whether Christensen lied; he asked Noffsinger if she had.

"I'm going to stop short of saying she's intentionally lying," Noffsinger said. "I'm very disappointed -- in what she did here."

Potter, who supervises Christensen, told Noffsinger she came to work in tears after the incident.

Noffsinger agreed, by interview's end, that his and Christensen's version of events likely differed because of a difference in perception. Christensen's memo, he told investigators, provided a "much more vivid" depiction of the incident than he recalled.

Investigators told Noffsinger they would close the case as unfounded, the records say. Noffsinger told them he understood.

After Christensen filed the tort claim, which mentions Noffsinger's complaint, The Oregonian on July 10 requested internal investigations and complaints related to the detective from the city of Hillsboro. The city on Sept. 30 provided The Oregonian with the memo Christensen wrote about her encounters with Noffsinger, but denied providing documents related to internal inquiries.

The Oregonian appealed the denial to the Washington County District Attorney's Office, which this month ordered release of records that pertain to Christensen and Noffsinger.

-- Rebecca Woolington