A woman maimed when police fired flash-bang grenades and other crowd-control weapons into a group protesting a right-wing rally in downtown Portland plans to sue the city, documents obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive show.

Michelle Fawcett, 53, suffered third-degree chemical burns on her arms and chest in August during an "unprovoked attack on her by members of the Portland Police Bureau," lawyer J. Ashlee Albies wrote in a Sept. 12 letter to Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Attorney Tracy Reeve.

Fawcett was one of at least three counter-protesters hospitalized because of injuries sustained from weapons fired by police at those opposing a Patriot Prayer demonstration Aug. 4 at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Police have since come under scrutiny for their use of flash-bang grenades, pepper balls, pepper spray and so-called "less lethal" rounds fire at or near protesters.

"I had charred, black flesh and bloody, yellow fluids oozing from my body," Fawcett said in a phone interview Thursday.

But the emotional impact has taken an even greater toll on the Southeast Portland resident.

"I went to stand in peace against people who promote hate," she said. "Yet I was shot by potentially lethal weapons by my own city. It's hard to process this. I feel crushed."

The police reaction violated Fawcett's First Amendment rights and constituted "assault and battery," according to the legal letter. The formal document, known as a tort claim notice, says Fawcett may seek economic and punitive damages.

Sophia June, a spokeswoman for Wheeler, said the mayor's office was not able to comment on pending litigation.

Fawcett's legal claims are the latest in a series that raise questions about how Portland's police handles protests.

In March, six protesters alleged in lawsuits that Portland police, who have become "increasingly militarized in their tactics," assaulted them during a series of turbulent protests between October 2016 and June 2017.

Fawcett, who works in documentary film distribution, had joined more than 1,000 people to protest the rally organized by Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson, a Vancouver activist whose prior Portland events have attracted white nationalists and others who promote racist or bigoted views.

Like most of the counter-demonstrators that day, Fawcett said she dressed in regular street attire and planned to peacefully protest the right-wing group.

She was chatting with a friend among an assembled crowd near Southwest Columbia Street and First Avenue around 1:45 p.m. when police started firing at the counter-demonstrators, according to her letter.

Fawcett and her lawyer say they believe she was struck by a flash-bang grenade. The so-called "less lethal" munition is meant to deliver a jarring blast of noise and light that can disperse crowds of people.

Yet they sometimes carry unintended consequences.

A ProPublica investigation found that 50 Americans had been seriously injured, maimed or killed by flash-bangs between 2000 and 2015.

Another Aug. 4 counter-protester told The Oregonian/OregonLive a police flash-bang struck him in the back of his head, lodging into his helmet and sending him to the hospital with a brain injury.

Amid mounting criticism, Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw said last month her bureau would suspend the use of flash-bang projectiles. But Outlaw has repeatedly defended police tactics that day, saying they succeeded in keeping rival political factions apart.

She's also said police fired at counter-protesters after some threw projectiles at officers, a claim not supported by reporters at the protest, interviews with participants and hours of video footage reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

During an appearance on the Lars Larson radio talk show last month, the chief compared counter-protesters to children who lost a schoolyard fight and had gone to "whine and complain" after officers "kicked your butt."

Outlaw's remarks have not set well with Fawcett.

"It's extremely painful to hear my assault being joked about by the chief of police," she said. "But I think more importantly it tells me that chief does not take the use of lethal force seriously."

Sgt. Chris Burley, a Portland police spokesman, said the bureau's protest response is under review.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 || @shanedkavanaugh