Click here for updates on this story
PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) — A now-former Portland Police Bureau officer was arraigned Monday on charges of assault and misconduct in connection with a Portland protest.
The Marion County District Attorney’s Office said a criminal investigation involving Officer Scott Groshong, 50, was initiated June 29. Groshong was placed on modified duty with the police bureau at that time.
The Portland Police Bureau had requested the Salem Police Department take over the criminal investigation, and, due to a conflict, then-Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill appointed the Marion County District Attorney’s Office as special prosecutor.
Groshong retired from the Portland Police Bureau in August while the investigation was pending.
Groshong turned himself in to law enforcement Thursday and was arraigned Monday morning. He is due back in court Dec. 14.
The Portland Police Association issued a press release last week stating Groshong was working in an undercover van near Northwest 9th and Davis Street on the night in question when a man stole from a skateboarding shop in the area. According to a PPB press release about protests that night, June 15, the burglary happened just before midnight, with several suspects arrested. The Portland Police Association says one of the suspects claims he was intentionally hit by Groshong’s van.
“Unfortunately, this decorated public servant has been caught in the crosswinds of an extremely divided city and a politicized criminal justice system,” according to a statement from Portland Police Association President Daryl Turner.
Turner’s release also states, “And instead of presenting all of the cold, hard facts, the outside prosecutor from Marion County withheld from the Grand Jury key eyewitness testimony.”
The Marion County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement Monday about the public release of information in this case. The district attorney’s office did not specifically cite the Portland Police Association.
“Oregon Law prohibits the release of confidential grand jury information by any person, except for the district attorney or a law enforcement agency in effectuating an arrest. Neither the Marion County District Attorney’s Office nor Salem Police Department was the source of any previously reported or published confidential information.
Prior to today’s arraignment, inaccurate and incomplete information from unknown sources was improperly reported to the pubic commenting on a pending confidential criminal indictment. The publication of inaccurate or incomplete information in any criminal matter is contrary to the proper function of the criminal justice system in Oregon. It misleads the public, creates confusion, and may violate the due process of an accused or the constitutional rights of a victim,” according to the Marion County District Attorney’s Office.
The press release from the Portland Police Association remained on the association’s website Monday.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.