A Protest Medic Alleges a Portland Police Officer Punched Him While Wearing Tactical Gloves

A bureau spokesman knew of no policy regarding whether officers were allowed to wear tactical gloves, also known as sap gloves and blackjack gloves.

gloves Cox’s lawyer says the gloves pictured are an example of what the officer wore.

Tyler Cox didn’t notice the gloves until after the officer punched him.

Cox, a nurse in the intensive care unit at Oregon Health & Science University, was volunteering as a medic during a protest last August in the Pearl District, where he says a Portland police officer named Thomas Clark tackled him, forcibly removed his helmet and punched him in the face.

As WW reported last week, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case against Clark for possible criminal prosecution, according to Cox’s attorney Joe Piucci. (The DA’s office has declined to comment.)

The incident was caught on video, gaining widespread attention on social media and in the local news late in the summer. But Cox recalls a detail from after the skirmish that stood out to him: Clark’s gloves.

Cox says Clark escorted him to a police van, where he informed Cox that he would be booked for assaulting an officer. (The DA’s office has since filed a “no complaint” in the case against Cox, meaning he won’t be charged.) Cox says he was “floored” the officer had accused him of being the assailant in the confrontation.

“I just looked at him and was like, ‘Excuse me?’” Cox now tells WW. “When I was standing there, that was when I really got to take a look at the officer and the gloves he was wearing.”

Cox and his attorney allege that the officer was wearing punching gloves, also known as tactical gloves, in which the knuckles are reinforced with metal or hard plastic to deliver a more powerful blow.

A bureau spokesman knew of no policy regarding whether officers were allowed to wear tactical gloves, also known as sap gloves and blackjack gloves. “I am not aware of any directive related to or permission related to such gloves,” says spokesman Lt. Greg Pashley. “Our directives are available to review online.”

It’s also worth noting that Clark, the officer accused of punching Cox, has studied mixed martial arts, jiujitsu and taekwondo, and was previously deployed with the Army in Iraq, according to grand jury transcripts from 2015. Bureau spokesman Pashley says Clark has been with the bureau for over 11 years and that his current assignment is listed as “Personnel – leave of service.”

Cox says he suffered a concussion from the incident and, in the long term, has experienced worsening depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, short-term memory loss and forgetfulness.

Cox and Piucci say they met with District Attorney Mike Schmidt on June 24 to discuss possible criminal prosecution of Clark. If the DA’s office declines to file charges, Piucci says he is ready to file a civil lawsuit.

“This was a particularly egregious criminal assault. It’s imperative that police officers face accountability,” Piucci says. “For better or worse, that responsibility rests on the DA’s office as the only effective mechanism for holding officers’ criminal conduct accountable.”

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