The City of Portland will likely write a $25,000 check to a convicted meth manufacturer, who was indicted last month on nine counts of identity theft and theft, should city council approve a lawsuit settlement at next Wednesday’s meeting.
Portland resident Jay Silva, now 24, filed a tort claim in 2013 and then a lawsuit in 2015 against the city, the police bureau, and a police officer, seeking $300,000 in damages. The tort claim, filed 11 days after the March 18, 2013, incident, says the police car Silva was being transported in rear ended another car (emphasis ours):
1. A claim for damages will be asserted against the Portland Police Department, as a result of injuries suffered by claimant Jay Silva on or about March 18, 2013 at approximately 1:00 p.m. when the police vehicle he was being transported in rearended another vehicle at 92nd and Foster in Portland Oregon.
The March 2015 lawsuit filed by the same lawyer, Marc Johnston (who was busy when we called this morning, and has not yet returned the call), changes that narrative, saying Silva’s injuries happened when the police car hit a curb:
On or about March 18, 2013, Plaintiff was being transported by Defendant Jason Lile, a Portland Police officer. After placing Plaintiff in custody, and prior to placing him in the patrol car, Plaintiff indicated to Defendant Lile that he had a “bad hip” on his right side where he had previously undergone surgery. Officer Lile then placed Plaintiff in the patrol car on his left side, laying down, with his hands cuffed behind his back and without seat belt restraints. During transport, Officer Lile was accelerating at a high rate of speed, while at the same time being distracted by his police computer, when he locked up his brakes, ran his car into the curb, causing Plaintiff to fly into the wall dividing the front and rear compartments of the patrol car, and then onto the floor. This sudden and violent stop caused Plaintiff to suffer significant physical injuries to his right hip and other parts of his body.
“Although the City denied negligence and denied having caused any injury,” writes Portland claims analyst John W. Buehler in an impact statement filed with council (see below for the full document), “the $25,000 settlement avoids the risk of an adverse jury verdict.”
Less than a month prior to that March 2013 incident, Silva was busted by Portland police for running a meth lab with a seven-month-old girl in the house, and was convicted on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and recklessly endangering another person. Last January, he was busted on gun charges and convicted of unlawful use of a weapon, court records show.
Last month, Silva was indicted on eight counts of identity theft, one count of first degree theft (for stealing property worth more than $1,000), and criminal conspiracy to commit theft.
I was surprised until I read his arrest was in 2013. The price of meth in Portland keeps dropping so it makes no sense to manufacture locally. Or, cough, so I’ve heard.
I’m sure the police officer, with passenger, who was guilty of distracted and egregious driving (no reason to speed or multitask, he had his bad guy) will in no way be held accountable for this. Viva Portland.