Candidate Eric Zimmerman Punched a Man in the Face, Says It Was the Right Call

When Ryan Thompson, 34, opened his Voters' Pamphlet this spring at his home in Goose Hollow, the Portland jeweler shuddered. Staring up at him was a picture of Eric Zimmerman, a candidate for Multnomah County commissioner.

"That's the guy who punched me," he recalls thinking.

Zimmerman does not deny striking Thompson in the face five years ago in a downtown fracas.

But Thompson and Zimmerman disagree about almost everything else, including who shoulders the blame for the November 2011 punch. Zimmerman says his actions ended a fight, and that he reacted to protect his then-partner. The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office never brought charges against Zimmerman, who faces Sharon Meieran in a November runoff to replace Position 1 Commissioner Jules Bailey.

The incident is little more than a bizarre footnote in the race, but it may raise voter questions about the judgment of Zimmerman, who currently serves as chief of staff to County Commissioner Diane McKeel.

A 2011 police report lays out the basic facts.

On Nov. 20, 2011, Thompson was at Silverado, a gay bar at Southwest 3rd Avenue and Stark Street, when he ran into an old acquaintance from Corvallis, Adan Salinas, Zimmerman's partner at the time. Thompson and Salinas argued. What they fought about is not entirely clear; Salinas did not respond to a request for comment.

"I ended up just socking him," Thompson says, "which is wrong, I admit."

Thompson has a history of trouble with the law, before and after that night, including charges of driving under the influence in 2004 and 2010. Disorderly conduct and harassment charges against him were dismissed in 2012, and he pleaded guilty to felony assault in November 2014.

But it was Thompson who filed a complaint with police.

Thompson says he was blocks from Silverado walking home when Salinas and his partner—whom police later identified as Zimmerman—pulled up in a Volkswagen and approached Thompson.

"It was pretty obvious what they wanted to do," says Thompson. "They were after me to try to get even with me."

Thompson says he felt threatened when Salinas and Zimmerman approached him, so he punched Salinas again. He says he was knocked to the ground, kicked and punched, but he wasn't sure by whom.

Thompson called police that night, but officers declined to write a report. Six days later, he contacted police again, insisting on pressing charges. Portland Officer Timothy Hoerauf then interviewed Salinas, who said he had stopped his car not to stalk Thompson but because he wanted to get Thompson's full name to file his own police report. (He never did.) Salinas said "he and his partner knocked Thompson to the ground," but he declined to give the officer Zimmerman's name.

Without that information, the DA's office would not consider prosecuting, according to notes from that time. "We have competing versions of events from the two parties directly involved in the incident," wrote Deputy District Attorney Tom Mott. "Who was Mr. Salinas' partner?"

Seven months later, in June 2012, Zimmerman came forward, telling Hoerauf he wasn't aware police wanted to talk to him.

Zimmerman says he wasn't drinking. He told Hoerauf that Thompson had "gone too far" when he punched his then-partner a second time, so he used his military training to subdue Thompson. Zimmerman, who worked for the Multnomah County assessor at the time, is an Iraq War veteran and Oregon Army National Guard captain.

"By putting an arm around Thompson's head, Zimmerman took him to the ground," Hoerauf reported. "Zimmerman said he got into a 'front mount' position on Thompson and punched him in the face near his eye. Zimmerman said when he realized Thompson was no longer a threat, he stood up and left with Salines [sic] in his car."

After documenting Zimmerman's account, Hoerauf's police report fell into a black hole. It was never re-referred to the district attorney's office, records show, and a spokesman for the office wouldn't say how it would have responded.

Today, Zimmerman defends his actions.

"I ended the fight," he says, "and I ended the fight the best way I knew how, with my military training."

Willamette Week