Last week, a podcaster’s video went locally viral with claims that Corvallis Police attacked Jason Sutherland on the 800 block of SW 11th Street on October 31, 2023. The twelve-minute production is titled “He sued the cops so they attacked him.”
The podcaster asserts that because Sutherland had sued the department, the stop was retaliatory. City insiders say that Sutherland has been a frequent flyer as goes community disturbances and police interactions. The video is mostly police-cam footage of the stop, interspersed with the podcaster’s impressions.
Here’s what the video shows: Early on, as the officers are initially approaching Sutherland, he can be seen recording a video on his phone with one hand. One of the officers asks him to remove his other hand from a coat pocket. Sutherland refuses. One of the officers explains he wants to make sure he doesn’t have a weapon. The officers appear to take hold of Sutherland’s arm in a bid to see his hand.
Sutherland, in some coordinated way, goes from standing to the ground. We can’t tell if Sutherland or an officer initiated the move. When we asked the department, their spokesman said the officers initiated bringing Sutherland to the ground.
Sutherland accuses the officers of assault and battery throughout much of the video. Reviewing the video, we do not see punches or kicks initiated.
Sutherland can be heard yelling that he is not resisting. One of the officers can be heard saying that he knows he’s not. This could have been the officer trying to de-escalate Sutherland. Visually, it appears Sutherland is projecting strength into his arm to resist the officer’s attempt to remove his hand from his jacket pocket – that he is, in fact, resisting. He also appears to resist being handcuffed.
Later, the video shows an officer explaining to Sutherland that he is being cited for interfering with an officer and violent conduct.
The why question: On approaching, one of the officers explains to Sutherland that they are stopping him because they’re investigating a reported explosion. The podcaster alludes to the police rationale for the stop as a subterfuge, given the reported explosion had occurred on OSU’s campus eight blocks away, twenty-four hours prior.
Corvallis Police spokesperson Lt. Benjamin Harvey confirms that report took place – but he also told us the department received a brand new second report the next day from a whole other location.
Sutherland was at the location from which the second report came when the officers arrived, according to Lt. Harvey.
“A community member called 9-1-1 to report an explosion coming from the backyard of the residence. As Officers and Fire personnel arrived on scene, Jason Sutherland was filming with his cell phone and acting suspicious. He appeared to be wearing a disguise with his face and head covered with a beanie, sunglasses, and a gaiter mask. Several neighbors and fire fighters told officers they suspected Sutherland was involved in the explosion,” wrote Lt. Harvey in an email. “Fearing that he had a weapon or detonation device in his pocket, officers attempted to do a pat down search. During the pat down search, he tried to pull away from their grasp and resisted their efforts to detain him. He was taken to the ground with intermediate force used and placed in handcuffs.”
When we asked Lt. Harvey what prompted the officers to mention the explosion to Sutherland, he answered, “Based on training and experience, we know that people involved with detonating explosive devices and fire setting often remain nearby to observe or record the emergency responders and the results of their actions.”
The result so far: Sutherland was charged with Interfering with a Peace Officer and Disorderly Conduct II, according to Lt. Harvey. He was not, however, charged with the explosion. The criminal charges are still awaiting a trial.
We asked the department about prior or current lawsuits from Sutherland. We also asked if the responding officers knew about the lawsuits. The department declined to answer, citing ongoing criminal and civil litigation involving Sutherland.
CPD was forthcoming with the address from which the police report was initiated – we are declining to report that address at this time.
Video muting: We asked Lt. Harvey why the camera’s sound turned to mute several minutes into the stop. He answered that the officer wearing the body worn camera was not in contact with the arrested person at the time. He also said it is common practice, and permitted by CPD policy, to mute the camera and leave it recording video footage when not in direct contact with an arrestee during a stop.
Here’s the video:
This is a developing story: We’ve also been told the City’s insurance company has rejected Sutherland’s civil claim, believing he does not have a case. At press time, the attorney representing the City in this case was out of town. We asked the department about other interactions it has had with Sutherland, which they characterized as numerous.
By Mike Suarez and Steven J. Schultz
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