Oregon Jail Deputy Slams Man In Custody Against Wall, Causing Permanent Brain Injury, Video Of Attack Released

A video of a Washington County Sheriff's Office jail deputy attacking a man in custody was released Wednesday (June 10), days after he was charged. The incident took place in 2018.

According to local reports, Albert Molina was taken into custody for riding a bicycle while drunk and was transferred to Washington County Jail in Oregon. In the jail, Molina was assaulted by deputy Rian Alden. Molina suffered permanent brain injury and spent five days in the ICU post the incident.

The video of the assault, released by Molina's law firm, showed the man sitting on a bench after being searched by the deputy. He then gets up and stands against a wall. A while later, the deputy rushes toward him and slams him against the wall. He then pulls Molina to the ground.

Alden was initially not charged as there was "no enough evidence". When questioned, the deputy had claimed that he used force due to Molina’s disorderly behavior and verbal statements.

On May 31, the deputy was put on administrative leave after the sheriff’s office received a complaint accusing him of using racial slurs in "online communication" in December 2003. An investigation into the 2018 assault was also re-opened and on June 5, he was indicted on the charge of first-degree official misconduct, a misdemeanor.

After the video was released, Jason Kafoury, Molina's attorney, said, "This is an institutional problem about police abuse of citizens. Frankly, if the citizens weren’t taking to the streets, none of this would have come to light.”

"Several deputies were eyewitnesses to the assault on Mr. Molina. In a just society, those deputies would have arrested Alden on the spot," Kafoury added.

Calling the case “important,” Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett said, "This case is enormously important. It calls upon us, demands us, to do better when it comes to reviewing events. Deputies can use great judgment day and night, but I’m not going to use that as an excuse to say this case isn’t important.”

Meanwhile, speaking about police use of force in general, Washington County Chief Deputy District Attorney Bracken McKey said, "It is important that we protect those officers and their reputation by, if there is a case where we think there was an improper use of force, or there was a crime committed by an officer, that we do hold that officer accountable."