Portland Police Mistakenly Rammed Women’s Car and Pointed Guns Before Realizing They Had the Wrong People

PORTLAND, Ore. — Two women have been awarded a $150,000 settlement by the City of Portland after they had their vehicle rammed by Portland police officers in a mistaken-identity arrest.

In their lawsuit, Colleen McDonald and Hilary Rossio state that two Portland police cars struck their vehicle on August 29, 2023, after mistaking them for a suspected reckless driver.

The Women Feared They Would Be Shot and Killed When the Police Raised Their Guns

The two women said the policemen swore at them, drew their guns, and ordered them to raise their hands. Their attorney says in the lawsuit that his clients raised their hands and, fearing that they would be shot and killed,  screamed “what’s going on?” and “you have the wrong people.” The lawsuit says the police realized their mistake as they were ordering the two women out of their car.

Their attorney says the police officers used unreasonable force and failed to recognize that neither the car nor its occupants fit the description of the suspect’s vehicle.

The incident unfolded when a silver car sped past them, with Officer Gregory Burn in pursuit. He identified the driver as a slender man wearing a black T-shirt. Police followed the suspect, and Burn misidentified the women’s silver Ford Fusion as the suspect’s silver sedan, information he shared with dispatchers.

The police then began following the Ford Fusion. One police vehicle struck it on Southwest Bertha Boulevard, forcing the vehicle into a hard spin. The women’s car was again struck from the front by a second police vehicle.

It was at this stage that the police officers converged on them, demanding that they raise their hands. The officers had drawn their guns.

Despite the fact that it was then that the police realized they had the wrong suspects, the lawsuit claims they made the two women remain at the scene for a further 20 minutes while waiting for the arrival of a sergeant.