Oregon Tow Truck Company Must Pay $1.185 Million for an Assault on a Customer by a Former Employee

A Portland-based tow truck company has been fined $1.185 million following an assault by a previous company manager on a man who he believed had illegally parked in a disabled zone.

Curtis Bunch (62) told the Multnomah County Circuit Court last week that he had visited the Salem impound of Retriever Towing to collect his daughter’s vehicle which had parking permits and was wrongfully towed from outside her Salem townhouse on June 3, 2020.

Visit Quickly Escalated to Violence

Bunch said his visit to the impound on July 6 quickly escalated to violence when the manager of Retriever Towing, Richard Pinkerton (56), became enraged about where Bunch had parked and had assumed that he did not have to right to use disabled parking. Bunch had disabled veteran license plates on display.

After stating that he could see why Bunch had a vehicle towed because he did not pay attention to rules, Pinkerton proceeded to hit Bunch in the face four times, breaking bones. The incident was filmed by Pinkerton’s body camera and shown in court during the six-day trial.

The confrontation, which was also filmed by an overhead surveillance camera, unfolded when Bunch approached Pinkerton from the opposite side of a chain-link gate to discuss the retrieval of his daughter’s vehicle. What started as a calm discussion deteriorated into violence because of the disabled parking bay used by Bunch.

The court heard that Pinkerton dashed to his tow truck and opened the gate, all the while yelling at Bunch who, in turn, went to the passenger door of his pickup, grabbed a pistol, and pushed it into his rear waistband. Bunch is the holder of a concealed firearm license.

Yelling ‘Mine’s bigger,’ Pinkerton approached Bunch shouting out a trespassing order before punching him in the face, breaking several bones. Pinkerton then grabbed the pistol from Bunch’s waistband and threw it across the parking lot.

Curtis Bunch to be Paid $1.185 million

In 2021, Pinkerton was sentenced to 18 months of probation and seven days of house arrest in connection with the incident.

Bunch’s attorney, Paul Krueger, said the incident with Pinkerton sparked the return of his client’s PTSD, causing his marriage to disintegrate and making it impossible for Bunch to continue with his construction job.

Bunch ended up homeless and was living in a trailer in Newport at the time of the trial.

Attorneys for the tow truck company argued that the incident was isolated and that Pinkerton had resigned after his misdemeanor conviction.

Retriever Towing Was Sued by The DOJ

Retriever Towing was sued by the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) last year because its drivers were allegedly violating a state law that requires the signature of an on-site property manager before a tow can take place, no matter what time of night.

The case is ongoing in Multnomah County.