A Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy pleaded guilty to a felony assault charge and was sentenced to probation – avoiding a potential prison sentence – as part of a plea deal reached Tuesday as his criminal trial was getting underway in Hillsboro.
Former Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Rian Alden.
Washington County District Attorney’s Office
Rian Alden agreed to plead guilty to attempted assault in the second degree after a jury was selected. According to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, the former jail deputy could face three years in prison if he violates the terms of his probation. Washington County Circuit Court Judge Beth Roberts also ordered Alden to follow all laws, not have contact with the victim, submit a DNA sample – a requirement by Oregon law for felony convictions – and undergo an anger evaluation and seek treatment.
It’s extraordinarily rare for law enforcement officers to face criminal charges for using force while on duty. Washington County prosecutors initially decided they would not charge Alden, but changed their minds two years later after a racist email he is said to have authored surfaced amid historic racial justice protests and calls for police reform.
“Rian had a great 16 year career at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office,” Alden’s attorney, Dan Thenell, told OPB in a text message late Tuesday.
“He was free of misconduct and use of force allegations prior to this incident,” said Thenell, who is general counsel for the Oregon Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police. “He has taken responsibility and looks forward to moving on with his life.”
Thenell said Alden is still employed by the sheriff’s office. He was initially placed on leave in June 2020, which became unpaid leave starting in June 2022.
Captured on video
On March 30, 2018, Albert Molina was arrested by Tigard police for biking while intoxicated and taken to the Washington County Jail. Security camera footage from the jail does not include audio, but does show the two men talking to each other as Alden was attempting to take Molina’s booking photograph. The video shows Alden standing behind a counter, and Molina, standing with his back against a wall. Alden runs out from behind the country toward Molina with his arms outstretched. The security footage captures Alden appearing to place his hands around Molina’s neck and slam him up against the wall before taking Molina to the ground.
Molina’s injuries left him in a hospital bed with a fractured skull for 19 days, including five in an ICU, according to hospital records provided by Molina’s attorney.
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office investigated the incident, and the Washington County district attorney’s office declined to file charges, according to a Sept. 10, 2018, memo.
“Mr. Molina has stated he has no recollection of his arrest or anything that transpired at the jail,” prosecutors wrote at the time. “The few witnesses on scene are inconsistent in what they saw and heard. The video is of minimal value because it captures only one view and has no audio feed.”
Almost two years later, on June 1, 2020, Washington County prosecutors learned that Alden had been placed on leave after a years-old email written by Alden that was later publicly posted on a personal website under “hate mail” the blog’s author had received. In the message, dated Dec. 18, 2003, Alden used racial slurs to describe people from Mexico, Central and South America, and parts of Asia.
“Oh, I’m sorry, That was Racist, but I guess I am,” Alden wrote in the 2003 email. He also wrote that “foreigners” had come to the U.S. to “take our jobs for less money even though they don’t belong here.”
Just days after the email surfaced, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office indicted Alden. First, he was charged with official misconduct. Weeks later, he was also charged with two counts of second-degree assault and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.
Days before those more serious charges, Washington County agreed to settle a $625,000 lawsuit filed by Molina. Prosecutors said in court documents they were not previously aware of the extent of Molina’s injuries.
“Clearly the national police reform movement pushed the county to resolve the case and press charges against Alden,” Molina’s attorney, Jason Kafoury, told OPB in 2020. Molina is of Mexican descent, Kafoury said.
Whether it was Alden’s racist email, Molina’s civil lawsuit, the political climate or a combination of those factors, it’s extraordinary that the footage was not considered criminal in 2018. But in 2020, it resulted in felony charges.
“The internal sheriffs’ office review established he followed his training and agency policy,” Thenell, Alden’s attorney, wrote in his statement after Tuesday’s guilty plea. “He is, and remains remorseful, that Mr. Molina was unintentionally injured.”
The Washington County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement late Tuesday that Molina supported the plea deal.
“Mr. Molina made it known that he did not want Mr. Alden to be a police officer again, he wanted the case to resolve with a plea, and did not want Mr. Alden to serve a prison sentence,” prosecutors said in their statement. “This felony resolution will accomplish all of those goals.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Safety, Standards and Training, the state agency that licenses law enforcement officers, said Wednesday the agency would move to revoke Alden’s certification. Alden can voluntarily surrender his license or appeal it.