A Portland police sergeant was arrested and charged Thursday with third-degree sex abuse and harassment after allegedly grabbing a woman’s groin and pulling her hair at a Washington County sports bar in October, authorities said.
Darke Hull, 46, was cited and released, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Hull – a supervisor and 23-year member of the Portland Police Bureau assigned to the Traffic Division – was off duty when the alleged crime occurred, Portland police said.
“As law enforcement officers, we are held to a higher standard,” Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said in a statement. “In order to preserve the public trust, we are informing the community of this incident.”
Hull could not immediately be reached for comment.
Deputies responded to Toby’s Sports Pub on Southwest Hall Boulevard in Metzger shortly after 10 p.m. on Oct. 29. A woman told deputies that a man had “inappropriately touched” her and pulled her hair while at the bar the night before, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies reviewed surveillance footage that showed a man, later identified as Hull, touching the woman’s groin and pulling her hair “unprovoked,” according to the sheriff’s office statement.
The next day, the sheriff’s office notified the Portland Police Bureau’s Professional Standards Division that it was investigating Hull. The bureau placed Hull on administrative leave, Portland police said.
Portland police said they are conducting an internal investigation into Hull and declined to comment further on the “personnel matter.”
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Anel Cerić said the Portland Police Bureau was notified about the investigation into Hull so they could “follow their established protocol for a member being criminally investigated.”
-- Catalina Gaitán, cgaitan@oregonian.com, @catalingaitan_
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