A man was awarded more than $1 million after assaulting a Retriever Towing employee in 2020

PORTLAND, OR (KOIN) – A jury awarded a man more than $1.185 million after he was assaulted at a tow yard by a Retriever Towing employee in 2020. According to his lawyers, the man suffered facial fractures and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The attack occurred on July 3, 2020, when Curtis Bunch parked in a handicap parking spot at Retriever Towing in Salem to retrieve his car, which had been mistakenly towed, according to Bunch’s attorneys at the Paul Krueger Law Firm, noting that Bunch is a decorated war hero with a permanent disabled veteran’s state license plate and a disabled parking plate.

Richard Pinkerton, operations manager for Retriever Towing in Salem, argued with Bunch about parking in a handicapped spot.

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After Bunch refused to move his truck out of a parking space, Pinkerton charged him with trespassing. As Pinkerton left the premises to get a tow truck, Bunch — a concealed permit holder — grabbed a gun from his car and tucked it into his waistband, Bunch’s attorneys said.

According to court documents, Pinkerton returned to the area, got out of the tow truck and asked Bunch to drop the weapon, but after Bunch refused, Pinkerton punched Bunch, grabbed his gun and threw him across the parking lot.

Pinkerton called the police and reported Bunch making threats. At the scene, police handcuffed Bunch and placed him in the back of a patrol car, where Bunch suffered a panic attack and blood started pouring from his nose due to broken bones in his face, his attorneys said.

Bunch was taken to the intensive care unit, where he was diagnosed with three fractures of the maxillofacial bone. Bunch was left with “extreme post-traumatic stress disorder” after the incident, according to his lawyers.

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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 waistband on his back.

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

In the end, the judge sentenced Pinkerton to 1.5 years of probation, which includes mandatory anger management courses, as well as 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 hear back.

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