PORTLAND, Or - The Portland sergeant who was accused in a road rage incident while he was off-duty has been taken off street patrol, City Commissioner Dan Saltzman told KGW Monday afternoon.
Sergeant Kyle Nice (pictured in photo above) was driving his truck with his six-week-old child inside when, he said, another driver ran a red light and almost hit him. Nice told investigators he pulled up next to the driver and yelled at him. However, that driver, Neil Ruffin of SW Portland, claims Nice flipped him off and cursed him out.
Sgt. Nice and the other driver, Neil Ruffin, eventually pulled over and began to argue, investigators said.
Witness Elizabeth Johnston said she saw Nice pull his gun out of his holster. She said he never pointed it at Ruffin, but he certainly made a point that he was armed.
More: Details of road rage incident
The Portland Police Bureau was investigating the incident and on Monday, Saltzman said that Police Chief Rosie Sizer decided it would be best to transfer Nice to administrative duty and off street patrol indefinitely.
Saltzman told KGW that Nice was currently on family leave, to spend time with his new baby. He said Nice would likely return to work soon and there was no timeline for how long he would remain on administrative duty.
"t doesn't preclude potential discipline after an investigation is complete but for the time being we believe it's best that he be in administrative assignment of the street," Saltzman said. "This is not acceptable behavior for our officers on or off duty."
In addition, Ruffin has filed a lawsuit against Sgt. Nice and the City of Portland over the road rage incident. The lawsuit accuses the sergeant of threatening him with a loaded gun and menacing and seeks $145,000 in damages.
Nice involved in past civil rights lawsuit
This was not Sgt. Nice's first time in the news. He was one of the officers involved in the highly-publicized James Chasse Case.
Background: Chasse civil rights lawsuit
In the Chasse incident, the mentally ill man died in police custody Sept. 17, 2006 after several officers - including Nice - used force to subdue him.
The officers allegedy observed him urinating in public on an Old Town street and then tried to arrest him. Chasse suffered 16 fractured ribs, a punctured lung and at least 19 blows to the head during efforts to subdue him, according to an internal police investigation.
Chasse's family later sued the city alleging that Portland Police used excessive force and failed to provide adequate medical care - thereby making the city liable for his death.
