Portland to pay out $400,000 to Antifa extremist over allegations of ‘excessive force’ during 2020 riot arrest

Ferreria was taken into custody in September 2020 on charges including interfering with an officer, second-degree disorderly conduct, and menacing, according to court records. These charges were dropped the following day by progressive Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, who refused to prosecute more than 540 cases related to the far-left BLM-Antifa riots that desecrated downtown Portland, Oregon for months.

Ferriera, who is bound to a wheelchair due to brittle bone disease, alleged that Damerville kicked his wheelchair and forcefully pushed his back near the intersection of Campbell Avenue and North Lombard Street during a police operation to clear unruly protesters off of a sidewalk, as per the complaint.

After Ferriera allegedly complained to Damerville about the force used, the police Sgt. targeted him for arrest several minutes later. Ferriera claimed that Damerville "violently grabbed" his right arm, lifted the left wheel of Ferreira's wheelchair off the ground, spun the chair around, and pulled Ferreira's hands behind his back to detain him with zip ties, according to the lawsuit.

Police documents show that officers declared an unlawful assembly around 11:30 pm and issued dispersal orders. In a court declaration filed by Damerville, the former Sgt. explained that Ferreria refused to comply with the orders, resulting in his arrest. Police had issued several dispersal orders and an hour later Ferreria was still there. Damerville said he told Ferreria several times that if he did not leave the premises he would be subject to arrest, and when Ferreira "refused to comply," he was arrested.

Jason Kafoury, an attorney for Ferreira, filed a vulnerable person claim on behalf of his client in the Multnomah County Circuit Court. Under state law, a vulnerable person may be entitled to triple damages plus attorney fees if an officer is convicted by a jury of abusing someone who is elderly or incapacitated. Kafoury told the Oregonian that this could be the reason why his client is poised to win a hefty sum. The lawsuit claimed that Ferreria was a nonviolent protester who was on the sidewalk when officers abruptly rushed in to make arrests.

In an interview with the paper, Ferreira said that video footage captured "police assaulting a disabled person." The settlement, he said, should send police the following message: "Don't assault someone in the community because you can." His message comes after his Pacific Northwest Antifa comrades spent months assaulting law enforcement officials and destroying family businesses in the aftermath of George Floyd's police-involved death in Minneapolis, which happened nowhere near Portland, Oregon.

The City Council voted to approve the settlement on Wednesday. The city was reportedly advised by risk management services to settle the lawsuit after an investigation revealed that they could be found liable if taken to trial.

Damerville resigned from the Portland Police Bureau in May 2022 after 11 years on the force. He was cleared of excessive force last week in a separate lawsuit filed by another Antifa-linked activist, following a crushing ruling by a federal jury. Damerville now works as a police officer in Tennessee.

Plaintiff Dustin Ferreira has an extensive history of criminal involvement with Antifa, including carrying out acts of violence and harassment. In August 2021, he was captured on video footage rushing in to fight people following a family Christian prayer event in downtown Portland, which was attacked by Antifa militants.

On May 28, 2021, Ferreira was captured on video assisting a group of Antifa in trying to break the windows and doors of the Nines Hotel in an attempt to attack journalist Andy Ngo, who was seeking refuge inside the property after he was brutally beaten by black bloc Antifa militants while covering a left-wing demonstration in downtown Portland.

Additionally, Ferreira has targeted several of Ngo's speaking engagements. He has organized multiple protests against Portland's famous bookstore Powell's Books after it agreed to sell Ngo's New York Times best-selling book, Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy.

The disabled Antifa militant, known as a violent obsessive police hater, has disrupted several police press briefings to advance a radical anti-police message while officers were informing the public about critical community issues. Ferreira has also been arrested or detained multiple times by law enforcement during violent Antifa direct actions, according to court records.

The city attorney's office reported that Portland has distributed just over $3 million in compensation for lawsuits related to police interactions with rioters in 2020.