A second police officer from Forest Grove, Oregon, was indicted on Thursday after declining to arrest and driving home another police officer who vandalized a couple's home that had a Black Lives Matter flag displayed on their front yard.
According to the Associated Press, Officer Steven Teets faces charges of second-degree criminal mischief and second-degree disorderly conduct after he allegedly walked onto the driveway of the home on October 31, 2020, set off the car alarm, hit the BLM flag in front of the garage, and kicked and pounded on their front door.
He was off-duty at the time.
Resident Mirella Castaneda – a 30-year-old mother of four – and her husband called the police and identified Teets, who was found wandering not far from the scene, to the responding officer, Bradley Schuetz.
But instead of arresting him, investigators said Schuetz gave him a courtesy ride home.
Beaverton police Sgt. Kevin MacDonald said by failing to arrest Teets, Schuetz "prevented the investigation from happening."
Castaneda said the disturbance by the off-duty cop last October still haunts her to this day.
"I've never been so frightened, never had someone come at us, attack us with such rage and violence like this individual did," she told KGW News.
You can watch the news report here.
Castaneda said she and her husband saw Teets – who was unidentified at the time – apparently in an inebriated state and standing on their property on the early morning of Halloween.
"The guy gets to my door, starts pounding on it, starts kicking it, starts opening it, just going nuts. He starts breaking everything that's there on the porch. We had the Halloween decorations just set out."
The trauma her children suffered was especially tough for Castaneda. She said her daughter was so scared, she no longer sleeps alone, and her son had at one point slept with a knife by his pillow.
Schuetz was indicted by a grand jury on one count of first-degree official misconduct for neglecting to arrest Officer Steven Teets.
Teets has been on administrative duty while the Washington County Sheriff's Office conducted an investigation of last October's incident.
"There's no way this man could be a police officer," said Castaneda, who wants to see Teets fired from the Forest Grove Police Department.
While the motive for his attack is unclear Castaneda is certain it was because of her BLM flag.
"I want accountability and I want to know the truth," she said.
Forest Grove Police Capt. Michael Hall confirmed Schuetz is currently on paid administrative leave.
@SecretaryBurgum/X
@Doug Ellin/X
@evanrachelwood/Instagram