PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Multnomah County jury awarded $900,000 to the family of an 86-year-old woman who was forced to the floor and handcuffed at a nursing home by Lake Oswego police.

The late Elvera Stephan had Alzheimer's disease, and the jury agreed Monday by an 11-1 vote that Avamere, the corporate owner of The Pearl care center, had been negligent and reckless in its conduct on April 13, 2006.

During the trial, experts hired by the defense argued that staff had followed proper procedures and were not responsible for the actions of police.

A surveillance video of the incident was played for the jury. Defense attorney Kelly A. Giampa acknowledged it looked "very undignified." However, she argued the Alzheimer's patient did not remember what happened so she could not have experienced a loss of dignity.

That was an important question in the trial because the Stephan family sought damages in part for their mother's loss of dignity.

Stephan's children moved her into an Alzheimer's care center after her husband was hospitalized. Within a few days she became agitated and, according to her caretakers, very aggressive.

The caretakers notified a registered nurse in another part of the facility, who called the woman's doctor for guidance. He said Stephan should be taken to the emergency room for evaluation and medication.

The nurse called 911 to summon an ambulance. Police responded because the emergency dispatcher was notified that the patient was aggressive.

Two officers forced the elderly woman to the floor, where they rolled her onto her stomach and handcuffed her hands behind her back. She remained on the floor for six minutes.

Stephan was taken to the hospital, medicated and returned to the nursing home. The next day a nurse reported that her wrists were bruised, but she was "calm and compliant."

A state investigator later found the facility at fault for failing to assess the woman's condition and intervene in a timely manner. The facility was fined $300.

"Dignity is eternal," Scott Kocher, the family's attorney, told jurors.

"If dignity were not eternal, we would not have cemeteries...Just because she had Alzheimer's disease or memory loss...does that mean she's not entitled to the same kind of dignity as you or I?"