Opbroek arrived at the violent Antifa demonstration around 1 am on June 26, 2020, and was hit on the foot roughly ten minutes later with a less-lethal crowd control munition device when Portland Police officers attempted to disperse the unruly crowd. Authorities declared the gathering an unlawful assembly, citing "life safety issues" after rioters began moving dumpsters and large barriers around the police bureau's north precinct.
One person could be hearing yelling that the protesters were going to burn down the precinct, the Oregonian reported.
Opbroek claimed in the April 2022 suit filed in the US District Court in Oregon that she saw police fire flashbang grenades and impact munitions directly into the crowd. She stood next to rioters and filmed police. Opbroek claimed that an officer fired a projectile at her feet when she started to walk away from the crowd. The less-lethal munition was a rubber ball distraction device that detonates and disperses rubber pellets, according to the publication.
She allegedly sustained a traumatic brain injury and injuries to her legs and chest, which resulted in nerve damage that reportedly left her unable to work as an academic and career adviser. Oproek also claimed she had to shut down her therapy practice as a result.
Her attorneys claimed in a statement that the case was about "police throwing a bomb at a protester who was walking away."
Opbroek testified to city councilors, saying, "There wasn't an aspect of my life that wasn't impacted by this experience of violence and I think that there needs to be more done to protect protesters." City councilors voted unanimously to approve the civil settlement.
A new state law prohibits police from using rubber ball distraction devices, and authorities told city councilors on Tuesday that the PPB no longer uses them.
This payout follows one of several given to individuals who actively participated in the infamous 2020 BLM-Antifa riots following the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The riots desecrated downtown Portland for several months. The majority of the settlements stemmed from criminal rioters being injured by police when officers attempted to disperse crowds. The city of Portland and Department of Justice (DOJ) has since given millions of dollars to rioters via settlements. In November, the city gave a $400,000 settlement to Antifa extremist, Dustin Brandon Ferreira, after he claimed an officer used excessive force to detain him during one of the riots.
