A Portland driver is accused of hitting federal officers’ rental car twice over the weekend — once on Interstate 84 and again near a hospital, authorities say.
Lonnie Vantewa Albert, 55, has been charged in federal court with assaulting a federal officer. He appeared in court Tuesday and was released from Multnomah County custody the same day.
The two Federal Protective Service officers are not identified by name in court documents. They were deployed to Portland to support “ongoing federal law enforcement operations” in the city, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The officers left the downtown Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, which is next to the Multnomah County Justice Center, in Sunday’s early-morning hours, court documents show.
They were on Interstate 84, heading to their hotel in a rental car, when one of them noticed an SUV passing them on the left.
The officer who was driving noticed the SUV’s driver, later identified by authorities as Albert, glance toward him. The officer’s shoulder patch was visible, according to court documents.
Albert turned sharply in front of the officers’ car, almost hitting it, according to the documents, and later hit the car. His car spun after hitting the officers’ car, and one of the officers got out to see if he was hurt.
But Albert left the scene, according to the documents. The officers tracked him to get identifying information and his license plate number, and he eventually stopped near Adventist Health Portland, 10123 S.E. Market St.
Albert eventually pursued the officers’ car and hit it a second time, the documents show. Portland police arrested him.
The officers’ car was dented, scratched and otherwise damaged, according to the Department of Justice. Court documents state that Albert’s car was significantly damaged.
He told police a story that differed significantly from the federal officers’ account, claiming he believed the people driving the officers’ car were friends with a stalker of his from California, documents show.
— Jim Ryan; [email protected]; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
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