PORTLAND, Ore. — A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit brought by former Portland city commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty against the Portland Police Association, the union confirmed Thursday morning.
Court records for the case do not include a settlement document as of Thursday, but they do indicate that the upcoming trial and pre-trial meetings scheduled for this week have been canceled due to the case being settled. KGW has reached out to Hardesty for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
The lawsuit stems from a 2021 incident in which Portland Police Bureau staff and the union's president at the time, Brian Hunzeker, leaked a report in which a motorist incorrectly identified Hardesty as a suspect in a hit-and-run accident. A police investigation ruled out Hardesty within about 24 hours of the accident, determining that the suspect was a woman from Vancouver, but the initial report leaked and was reported in the media during the intervening time.
Hardesty decried the leak as a politically-motivated attempt to smear her reputation. Hunzeker resigned as union president a short time later and was fired from the police bureau about a year after the incident, although he was subsequently reinstated through arbitration earlier this year. Hunzeker resigned in April after Willamette Week reported that was still a full-time employee of the Clark County Sheriff's Office.
Hardesty filed her lawsuit in late 2021, targeting the city, the police union, Hunzeker and Kerri Ottoman, another PPB officer involved in the leak. She settled with the city earlier this year, with the city agreeing to pay $5,000 and provide a signed apology from Mayor Ted Wheeler, who also serves as police commissioner.
The lawsuit against the union and the two PPB officers continued and was set to go to trial Oct. 2, but the union confirmed Thursday that it had reached a settlement agreement.
"The PPA carries insurance and when litigation is involved, insurance companies must make business decisions about settlement. In this case, the PPA’s insurance carrier made the business decision to settle this case. The PPA is pleased to have this matter behind it," Sgt. Aaron Schmautz, the PPA's current president, said in a statement.
The PPA statement did not disclose any of the terms of the settlement. Hardesty's lawsuit had sought $3 million from the union and $1 million each from Hunzeker and Ottoman. The statement also did not make clear whether the settlement applies to Hunzeker and Ottoman, or just the union.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.