A federal jury today ruled unanimously that a Portland police officer used excessive force when he fired a Taser five times into the back of a man he suspected of spray-painting graffiti on a commercial building.

The jury deliberated about three hours and ruled that Portland Police Officer Benjamin J. Davidson violated Daniel Halsted's constitutional rights, and awarded him $125,000 in punitive damages, $75,000 in non-economic damages and $6,372.70 for medical costs.

Halsted, a 36-year-old Portland resident with no criminal record, called the June 17, 2008, encounter at Northeast Wasco Street and 26th Avenue "the most traumatic experience" in his life.

His attorney Joseph Grube argued that Davidson failed to identify himself as an officer on a dark street at 1 a.m., wrongly assumed his client was involved in the vandalism and used force disproportional to the alleged crime of "petty vandalism."

Once Tased, Halsted said he fell, had his face pushed into the ground and suffered facial fractures and abrasions to his head and hands. Police cited him for resisting arrest and criminal mischief, but prosecutors didn't file charges.

"He's not allowed to needlessly attack someone without probable cause," Grube said. "A police officer should not assume someone is guilty before they use force."

Deputy City Attorney James Rice countered that Davidson, who joined the bureau in 2003, acted as any reasonable officer would, trying to stop a man who was seen running blocks from the suspected vandalism and Tasing him when he continued to run. He argued that there was no mistaking Davidson as an officer since he was in uniform and got out of a marked police car.

"This is a police officer doing his job, under difficult circumstances in the dark, with the tools given him," Rice said."The level of force was brought on by Mr. Halsted when he started to run and fought with police officers."

The officer's and Halsted's accounts differed.

Halsted testified that he was walking home after a night out bowling with friends and a stop for dinner and drinks at the Rose and Thistle pub. After he bid goodbye to his friends - a couple who lived on Northeast 24th Avenue - Halsted said he continued to walk home, now alone. As he turned onto Northeast Wasco Street, Halsted said he noticed a flashlight shining on him and heard a man behind him yell "Get him!"

He said he looked back, saw a dark figure and began to run east on Wasco because he was frightened. He heard "Tase him," and then felt a shock to his back and fell. While yelling out for citizens and neighbors to call police, he was Tased four more times before other officers helped Davidson get Halsted into custody in a maximum hobble restraint. He was then taken to a local hospital.

"It's the most traumatic experience I've had," Halsted testified. "It's changed my view of the police. It's extremely non-sensical. I can't believe it happened. It's disgusting." Halsted, then technical director at Portland's Hollywood Theatre, is now the theatre's head film programmer.

Davidson testified he was responding to a report that four men were seen on the roof of a building at 2506 N.E. Multnomah St., tagging it with spray paint. Dispatch alerted Davidson that a suspect was seen heading east on Wasco. When Davidson approached Northeast 26th Avenue and Wasco, he said he looked west and saw three men running toward him on Wasco. Davidson said he got out of his patrol car and shined his flashlight on the men, yelling "Police, stop!" He said two of the three men ran in between houses while the third, Halsted, darted onto the south sidewalk of Wasco Street, heading toward Davidson and skirted past him. When he refused to stop, Davidson said he fired his Taser.

Rice tried to discredit Halsted, asking him about his collection of Kung Fu movies, and suggested during his closing argument that Halsted kept resisting because he was likely intoxicated. Halsted's attorney countered that there was no evidence of Halsted's intoxication, and asked Halsted if he'd ever been trained in martial arts, to which the answer was no.

"It's scary because it wasn't just the incident but their report of what happened, which didn't align with the facts," Halsted said after the verdict. "I was just a guy walking home. It could've been anybody."

The suit follows a

Currently, Portland police are authorized to use a Taser when a person engages in, or displays the intent to engage in physical resistance or aggressive physical resistance.

The city has reviewed the policy, which is more permissive than model police guidelines, for at least two years, but no changes have been made. Officers though, have been trained on recent developments in 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case law, which says Taser probe use should be considered an intermediate use of force when there's an immediate threat, said Dave Woboril, a deputy city attorney.

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