PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland police officer Corey Budworth issued a video apology for hitting a photographer in the head with a baton during the 2020 racial justice protests. Last week, prosecutors dismissed a fourth-degree misdemeanor assault charge against Budworth.
In the video statement released Tuesday, Budworth said he met with his alleged victim, independent photographer Teri Jacobs, through the restorative justice process.
"During my reflection of the evening, the force used against Ms. Jacobs could have been avoided and I’m sorry, Ms. Jacobs, for unnecessarily hitting you in the head with my baton," Budworth said.
The Portland officer also acknowledged the fractured relationship between police and some members of the community.
"I understand the harm that was caused was not limited to Ms. Jacobs and was felt by others in the community when there was a great distrust of law enforcement," he said.
Budworth was assigned to the Portland Police Bureau's Rapid Response Team at the time of the alleged assault.
The charge, filed in June 2020, prompted the entire Rapid Response Team to resign.
A video shared on Twitter showed the officer, identified at the time only by a number on his helmet, running and hitting the back of a woman's head with a baton near the Multnomah Building in Southeast Portland on Aug. 18, 2020. Police had declared an unlawful assembly and ordered the crowd to disperse.
The video showed the officer knock Jacobs down and strike her again on the head while she was down.
"I was grateful for the opportunity to tell him directly how his actions have affected me and continue to affect me through the restorative justice process," Jacobs wrote in a statement. "Although it can't change what happened to me that night, he admitted that his actions were wrong and pledged to do better himself, as well as facilitate changes in the PPB that would help prevent this type of police brutality from happening in the future."
Jacobs filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Portland stemming from the incident. The city agreed to pay her $50,000 to settle the case.
Budworth is expected to return to duty. He has been on administrative leave since June 2021, according to a Portland police spokesperson. The police bureau will resume an internal affairs investigation into the incident. The internal review had been suspended during the criminal case.
"This resolution, through a restorative justice process, is a brave example of what healing can and should look like, and is reflective of the type of healing that is not always achievable solely through a traditional criminal justice response," said Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt in a written statement. "If a police officer and a protester can come together in dialogue, understanding, and healing, I believe our city can as well."
The police officers' union, which originally described the prosecution as "politically driven" shared similar optimism.
"Police officers faced impossible circumstances throughout 2020. As a community, we have continued to struggle through compounding problems which we must address together. Ofc. Budworth and Ms. Jacobs willingness to change the trajectory of conversation demonstrates a path forward," wrote Portland Police Association president Aaron Schmautz in an email to KGW.