Jose Gasque was falsely arrested for criminal trespass by Officer Tequila Thurman on November 14, 2009 when he was sitting on a curb in a public alley.
Criminal charges were dropped.
Gasque sued the City of Portland for violation of his constitutional rights and was awarded $11,250 by a jury.
The Oregon Public Records Law, first enacted in 1973, is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels. The ORS 192.410(4)(a) says that a public record includes any writing that contains information that relates to the conduct of the public's business, is prepared, owned, used or maintained by a public body regardless of physical form or characteristics. If a record (a) does not relate to the conduct of the public's business and (b) is contained on a privately owned computer", then it is not a public record as defined in the law.
Anyone can request public records and a statement of purpose is not required. There are no restrictions on the use of records nor is there a specified time limit for responses.
