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Officer who was filmed punching a protester on January 9 was previously named in a lawsuit stemming from a 2020 protest. Another officer was reassigned after recent remarks made on camera triggered complaints and internal review. by Courtney Vaughn A Portland Police officer who was filmed punching a protester earlier this month during an anti-ICE protest was also named in a lawsuit years earlier by a different protester who was injured by police. Records obtained by the Mercury indicate Tyler Brunelle was the officer recorded using force on a protester who was already on the ground, being restrained by police. The incident occurred January 9, one day after two people were shot and injured by a Border Patrol agent in East Portland, triggering heightened protests against federal forces stationed at Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. Video shows the officer was working with Portland Police Bureau's (PPB) bicycle patrol squad that night. The video was captured by Kevin Foster, a local independent journalist who has contributed work to the Mercury. Following the incident, PPB said the officer’s use of force would undergo an internal review to determine whether it was within policy. As of Thursday, January 22, the Bureau noted Tyler Brunelle is “active with no changes to his duty status.” A state law enforcement database shows he was hired by PPB in 2017. Officer has clashed with protesters before Tyler Brunelle was one of four officers named in a lawsuit filed by Dexter Pearce in 2022. Pearce alleged that PPB officers shot him with an impact munition as he walked away from them during a protest on July 4, 2020. At the time, Portland was experiencing prolonged protests following the murder of George Floyd. “Sometime between 11:45 p.m. and 12:10 a.m., while [Pearce] was walking away, a PPB officer shot him in the back of his calf with an impact munition,” the complaint states, noting Pearce didn’t see which officer fired at him because he had his back turned to them. Pearce’s lawsuit alleged that he was shot at by officers “in retaliation for protesting the police,” noting the officer never attempted to detain or arrest Pearce for any criminal activity, indicating no justification for the use of force. The city eventually settled with Pearce. The day after Tyler Brunelle was recorded punching a protester, another officer who shares the same last name was recorded justifying the shooting death of Renée Good in Minnesota by ICE agents. Brandon Brunelle, a PPB officer assigned to the Bureau’s bike squad, was policing an anti-ICE protest on January 10 when a protester engaged him in conversation. “Sometimes criminals get shot,” the officer told an anti-ICE protester, referring to Good, the 37-year-old mother fatally shot by ICE as she tried to drive away. “It happens.” Officer Brandon Brunelle’s comments enraged the protester, whose video caught the attention of local city councilors and the police chief. The officer’s remarks triggered a complaint and led Portland Police Chief Bob Day to issue a statement in response to the widely circulated video. “PPB has been made aware of a video circulating online of an officer’s interaction with community members at a recent protest event,” Day said in a January 11 statement provided to the Mercury. “The complaint is under review and during that review this officer has been assigned to other duties.” Day said tensions were high following the recent events with ICE and Border Patrol agents, and said his agency’s goal is “to ensure that community trust is maintained and that members of the Bureau consistently represent the professional standards that everyone deserves…” Brandon Brunelle, who joined the Bureau in 2022, was reassigned shortly after the video circulated. PPB confirmed that he was pulled from protest monitoring duties and assigned to work “outside of front-line public order work while the incident is reviewed.” It’s unclear whether Tyler and Brandon Brunelle…

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