Man awarded over $1 million after 2020 assault by Retriever Towing employee

PORTLAND, Ore. (COIN) – A jury has awarded a man over $1.185 million after he was assaulted at a tow yard by a Retriever Towing employee in 2020 – leaving the man with facial bone fractures and PTSD, according to his lawyers.

The attack occurred on July 3, 2020, when Curtis Bunch parked in a handicapped parking spot at Retriever Towing’s Salem location to have his vehicle improperly towed, according to Bunch’s attorneys at the Paul Krueger Law Firm, noting that Bunch is a decorated war hero with a state-issued permanently disabled veteran plate and a handicapped parking plate.

Richard Pinkerton, the operations manager at Retriever Towing’s Salem location, confronted Bunch about parking in the handicapped parking spot.

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After Bunch refused to move his truck from the parking lot, Pinkerton charged him with trespassing. As Pinkerton left the lot to get a tow truck, Bunch — a concealed carry permit holder — took a gun from his vehicle and put it in the back of his waistband, Bunch’s attorneys said.

Pinkerton returned to the area, got out of the tow truck and asked Bunch to drop his weapon, but after Bunch refused, Pinkerton struck Bunch, took his gun and threw it across the parking lot, according to court documents.

Pinkerton called the police and reported that Bunch was threatening. At the scene, police handcuffed Bunch and placed him in the back of a squad car, where Bunch suffered a panic attack, and because of a fractured bone in his face, blood began pouring from his nose, his attorneys said.

Bunch was taken to an emergency room where he was diagnosed with three fractures to his jawbone. After the incident, Bunch was left with “extreme PTSD,” his lawyers said.

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While Pinkerton claimed he was defending himself after Bunch pulled a gun on him, video of the incident shows Bunch holding his gun in his back waistband.

After a jury found Pinkerton guilty of fourth-degree assault, Bunch encouraged the judge, “as a veteran on behalf of another,” not to include any prison time in Pinkerton’s sentence and to instead require Pinkerton to take anger management classes.

The judge ended up sentencing Pinkerton to 1.5 years of probation, which includes mandatory anger management courses, along with seven days of house arrest.

Retriever Towing did not immediately respond to KOIN 6 News’ request for comment. This story will be updated if we receive a response.

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