Hearing on civil rights suit is Friday
By Terry Murry on Thursday, July 13th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Court records indicate a hearing is scheduled at 9:30 a.m. Friday in the suit brought against the Umatilla Police Department, the city of Umatilla et al in U.S. District Court in Pendleton. The parties in the suit have filed multiple motions with the court and the session tomorrow is to allow oral arguments in those that are being contested by the other side.
The suit alleges that the above-mentioned parties along with Umatilla Police Chief Darla Huxel, Lt. Keith Kennedy, former Sgt. Bill Wright and others failed to investigate the rape of a 13-year-old girl in 2018. It is also alleged that those parties also failed to investigate another teenage female’s report of sexual assault last year.
Federal Magistrate Andrew Hallman will hear the arguments. Court records indicate that discovery will open two days after Hallman issues his ruling on the defendants’ motion to dismiss the charges. He also is asking for both parties to issue disclosures two days after that ruling
The plaintiff is asking for $2.6 million in damages. Their attorneys are Christopher Hayes, Patrick Gregg, and Terry Scannell. Counsels for the defendant are Andrew Campbell, William Stabler, and David Lewis.
When the family of the first plaintiff in the suit notified the FBI of its allegations, they arrested, charged, and convicted the suspect in federal court. The story about the original lawsuit can be found at https://elkhornmediagroup.com/civil-rights-suit-filed-in-child-sex-abuse-case/. The story about the second person joining the suit is at https://elkhornmediagroup.com/another-girl-is-part-of-suit-against-upd/.
File photo of the U.S. Courthouse in Pendleton
