Federal prosecutor, FBI agent explain decision not to prosecute officers involved in Michael Fesser case

West Linn anti-racism rally and march

Michael Fesser speaking at an anti-racism rally in West Linn last year. Fesser was wrongfully arrested by West Linn police in 2017, and obtained a $600,000 settlement against the city stemming from the arrest.

A federal prosecutor and an FBI agent met Tuesday with a West Linn community group to explain why the U.S. Attorney’s Office didn’t pursue charges against any officers involved in the bogus 2017 arrest of Portland resident Michael Fesser.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel said the office found it couldn’t prove a number of potential crimes beyond a reasonable doubt. Those included, he said, conspiracy to commit a civil rights violation, public corruption, making false statements in the course of a sworn civil deposition and obstruction of justice.

“The evidence did not support a criminal prosecution in federal court under existing statutes,” he said.

Three members of Congress in February 2020 called for federal prosecutors to examine the actions of West Linn police in building a questionable theft case against Fesser, who is Black, after The Oregonian/OregonLive revealed that West Linn had paid $600,000 to Fesser to settle his discrimination and wrongful arrest lawsuit.

West Linn police arrested Fesser in an investigation instigated by then-Police Chief Terry Timeus as a favor for a friend. The police chief’s friend was Fesser’s boss, Eric Benson, a West Linn resident and owner of A&B Towing Co. in Southeast Portland.

Benson targeted Fesser because Fesser had complained about racist comments and harassment at work. All theft charges against Fesser were dismissed, and Benson paid Fesser $415,000 to settle a separate civil suit.

Gabriel noted that the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, now before Congress, would lower the criminal intent standard for proving an officer violated a person’s constitutional rights. It would strike language that an officer’s alleged misconduct occurred “willfully” and replace it with “knowingly or recklessly.”

Federal prosecutors don’t determine if someone’s behavior is racist, repugnant or immoral, Gabriel said. “We just say whether it is a crime, in our opinion of course, or whether it’s not a crime,” he said. “Declination (to prosecute) should in no way be confused with an exoneration.”

FBI agent Caryn Ackerman, the lead agent in the inquiry, added, “If I had seen evidence and put together facts that I gathered through that thorough investigation that I thought we could support a federal prosecution, I would have pushed for that to the best of my ability.”

Ackerman and Gabriel addressed about 40 people in a video conference meeting organized by the West Linn Community for Police Reform and the Urban League of Portland. Their presence was significant because FBI agents and federal prosecutors rarely publicly explain a decision not to pursue a prosecution.

The community group formed because of the Fesser case and is focused on seeking better police accountability in West Linn and in the state. Fesser and his civil attorney Paul Buchanan also attended.

Residents vented their frustration about the lack of any civil rights charges.

Martha Boyce, the community group’s co-chair, and Urban League of Portland President Nkenge Harmon Johnson both said the federal decision not to prosecute was infuriating and hard to understand.

“There is no question the chief of police colluded with a private citizen and his other police officers to arrest a man who was innocent,” Boyce said.

Several residents expressed incredulousness over the still-unresolved matter of Mike Stradley, a former West Linn police lieutenant.

Stradley went on to work as a police training supervisor for the state but has been on paid leave for more than 14 months while the state Department of Public Safety Standards & Training has looked into his role in the Fesser case.

Buchanan called it “indefensible” that Stradley has remained on leave for so long with no consequences for his actions in the Fesser case. Stradley has been paid $131,844.91 from Feb. 13, 2020, through Feb. 28 of this year, according to the state agency.

Stradley had enlisted Portland’s gang enforcement officers to help West Linn police arrest Fesser on Feb. 25, 2017. Fesser was accused of stealing money from A&B Towing.

Stradley told West Linn and Portland officers that Fesser was a gang associate. He also warned his Portland colleagues that Fesser was potentially dangerous.

But Stradley later admitted in a sworn deposition that he hadn’t had contact with Fesser for more than 20 years and had no direct knowledge that Fesser was tied to a gang. Stradley also acknowledged that he knew only that Fesser had been seen with gang members two decades earlier and had attended trials of known gang members.

In November 2017, after an indictment was obtained against Fesser, Stradley further told Portland police that Fesser had made threats to his boss at A&B Towing and co-workers. But Stradley again later, in a sworn deposition with Fesser’s civil attorney, directly contradicted that. Benson also said Fesser never made any threats to him.

Stradley and his lawyer Sean Riddell have declined comment.

At the community meeting, Fesser thanked Gabriel for talking and meeting with him more than once, but told those gathered: “You guys know they’re going to protect these Mike Stradleys.”

He said he respected the group’s interest in the meeting but said he’s tired of the continued “talk” with no action.

Jerry E. Granderson, the new director of the Department of Public Safety Standards & Training, said by email that the review of Stradley “is still in an investigation mode.”

“Mr. Stradley remains on administrative leave until this investigation has concluded,” he wrote.

Granderson later added, “Please let me assure you that my office has placed this matter as a priority. Beyond that, I cannot respond to this matter until its conclusion.”

Gabriel said he couldn’t detail the information obtained in the federal investigation and recognized that people are dissatisfied with the outcome.

“It was important for us to show up in the community to personally hear the community’s frustration and explain as much as we can lawfully explain,” he said.

Since the case was publicized, West Linn fired the lead investigator in the case, Sgt. Tony Reeves, and West Linn Police Chief Terry Kruger, who took the job in June 2018. Fesser’s notice of intent to sue West Linn police arrived on the first day Kruger started as chief.

Last May, the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office said it would no longer call Reeves as a witness after finding he colluded with Timeus to pursue an unsupported arrest of Fesser for a personal friend of the chief’s.

“There has been significant accountability and I think a lot of that has to do with the community’s response,” Buchanan told the group.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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