Oregon Jury Awards $560K to Man Beaten by Police

A jury in Portland, Ore., has awarded more than $562,000 to a man who said in his lawsuit that city police beat and used a stun gun on him without provocation after stopping him for investigation of drunken driving.

The Oregonian reports that jurors deliberated about 4 1/2 hours before returning their verdict Monday in the case of Jason Cox.

Now 40, Cox testified that he thought he was going to be beaten to death after three officers took him into custody in a parking lot on June 28, 2011. He and experts testified that police irreparably injured his shoulder, meaning he could no longer earn $33 an hour as an ironworker.

Portland police contended Cox was argumentative, failed to follow orders and appeared to want to fight as he resisted being handcuffed.

Cox’s lawyers found surveillance video that showed two officers taking the man to the ground and punching him in the head at least half a dozen times. A third officer shocked him four times in about 30 seconds. The video showed Cox didn’t swing at the officers.

The city attorney’s office did not immediately return an after-hours call for comment.