Portland City Council Overturns Exoneration Of Taser-Using Officer In Narrow Vote

The Portland City Council voted narrowly to overturn the exoneration of a police officer who used a stun gun on a bicyclist during an incident in 2014. The vote was 3-2 to overturn the police bureau's decision that the officer had not done anything wrong.

Despite the vote, the council did not offer any guidance on how - or if - the officer should be disciplined.

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The incident happened after bicyclist Matthew Klug yelled at a driver that he claimed had struck him. Officer Bradley Nutting used a Taser six times though the police bureau maintained that some of those may have been misfires by the Taser.

Reports said that Klug had experienced a traumatic brain injury and was undergoing a mental health crisis.

Two years before the incident, the police bureau had been criticized by the United States Department of Justice for its treatment of people dealing with mental health issues and for excessive use of stun guns.

The incident was brought before the city's Citizen Review Committee, which determined Nutting had not acted appropriately. The police bureau determined otherwise and that decision was appealed before the council.