Hip-Hop Club Owner Seeks to Depose Portland Mayor Charlie Hales

Deposition would come in ongoing federal lawsuit over closure of Rodney DeWalt's Fontaine Bleau nightclub.

A federal magistrate on Monday cleared the way for a federal lawsuit against Portland and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, striking down the public agencies' motions to dismiss most of the claims in the civil rights case.

That means attorneys for Rodney DeWalt, the black owner of a shuttered Portland hip-hop club who says he was the target of a racist conspiracy between Portland police, city regulators and the OLCC, may soon get to depose Portland Mayor Charlie Hales.

This week, attorneys for the city filed an order seeking to limit any deposition of the mayor, asking that any questioning not be videotaped, for example.

DeWalt used to own the Fontaine Bleau nightclub on Northeast Broadway, but the club was forced to close after a shooting outside prompted the OLCC, with help from the city, to yank its liquor license. DeWalt says he was subjected to disproportionate monitoring in the months leading up to the closure as part of Portland's pattern of cracking down on black-owned businesses that cater to black patrons.

Jesse Merrithew, an attorney for DeWalt, says they're seeking to question the mayor about his communication with employees in the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, which monitors bars and clubs. They're also interested in questioning him about his decision to proclaim Oct. 15, 2015 "Hip-Hop Day," a move that followed the 2014 release of an Independent Police Review report that discussed the perception of unfair treatment by police of hip-hop clubs.

Bill Manlove, an attorney for the city, declined to comment on the pending case.

Merrithew said Friday he was pleased U.S. District Court Magistrate John Acosta this week allowed his client's case to move forward. It could go to trial sometime next year.

"We're pleased to move the case one step forward, to get it one step closer to a jury where Mr. DeWalt can seek justice," he says.

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