Two women from Portland are filing a lawsuit against the city and its police department, alleging that officers mistakenly identified their vehicle as that of a reckless driver.
The incident in question occurred on August 29, 2023, when Colleen McDonald and Hilary Rossio were returning from a trip to the Columbia River Gorge.
According to their federal lawsuit filed in Portland, the women claim that police followed their Ford Fusion for over ten miles before ramming into them without warning and drawing their firearms.
They were initially taken aback as police vehicles crashed into their car, shouting expletives and demanding that they raise their hands.
The women complied with the officers’ demands while expressing confusion and distress, calling out, ‘What’s going on?’ and ‘You have the wrong people!’
The lawsuit charges the police with reckless and negligent conduct during the pursuit, alleging that they failed to properly identify the vehicle and its occupants, using excessive force against innocent civilians.
The Portland Police Bureau has declined to comment through city attorney Robert Taylor.
At the time of the incident, both women were 30 years old. They reported being unaware of being followed by police at all.
The sequence of events began when Officer Gregory Burns, on a motorcycle, spotted a silver sedan engaging in reckless driving on southbound I-205.
After following the suspect vehicle onto Northeast Fremont Street, the driver exited and gestured at Burns, who then called for backup.
However, the driver of the sedan fled the scene, and Burns mistakenly identified McDonald and Rossio’s Ford Fusion as the suspect’s vehicle.
This incorrect information was communicated to other officers, who began tracking the women.
After taking a series of exits on Interstate 5, McDonald stopped at a red light on Southwest Terwilliger Boulevard, still unaware that police were pursuing them.
As the light turned green, the women reported hearing a thud against the rear of their car, which they later discovered was an attempt by police to deploy spike strips.
Subsequently, McDonald drove a mile along Southwest Bertha Boulevard, where a police car without sirens or lights abruptly collided with the side of their vehicle.
This impact caused their car to spin violently, and another police vehicle subsequently struck the front, bringing the car to a complete stop.
Officers quickly surrounded the Ford Fusion, screaming commands at the women while pointing their guns.
In a brief cellphone video taken by McDonald, she can be heard expressing her shock, stating, ‘I’m like still shaking,’ as police vehicles pinned them in.
Both women assert they were not speeding or driving erratically, contradicting the police’s justification for the aggressive stop.
The police only activated their lights after they had already collided with the women’s vehicle.
Once the women exited their car, the officers finally lowered their weapons and de-escalated the situation.
Even after realizing their mistake, police held the women at the scene for about twenty minutes before a sergeant arrived.
The lawsuit seeks damages of up to $1 million for emotional distress, along with $4,978 for vehicle repairs and over $15,000 for medical expenses incurred by the women.
Additionally, they are requesting unspecified punitive damages against the police department.
Cox, the women’s lawyer, highlighted that their experience echoes another case he previously handled.
In 2021, Patrick Cunningham, a Door Dash driver, was also rammed by police who mistook his vehicle for that of a hit-and-run suspect.
The city settled Cunningham’s lawsuit for $50,000 in 2023, as he had actually stopped to assist the victim of the hit-and-run.
This current case raises serious questions about police procedures and the identification of suspects in high-pressure situations.
image source from：oregonlive
