Law enforcement officials refused for weeks to take action against the EGT-associated driver who on August 29 was caught on video appearing to have intentionally run down two longshore workers, failed to render aid, failed to report an accident, and left the scene of the accident. On Thursday, September 22, the ILWU filed a civil rights lawsuit for rough treatment of longshore union members, and the next day the county prosecutor’s office finally announced it would charge the EGT driver with two felony charges of hit-and-run. Will EGT’s driver be publically arrested and required to post bail like the longshore workers?
The Cowlitz County Prosecutor’s Office has charged an Oregon City man with two counts of felony hit-and-run after he allegedly drove a Chevy Suburban into two men protesting at the EGT grain terminal Aug. 29.
A video of the incident shows the SUV pushing two men to the ground as it passes through the terminal’s gates. The sheriff’s office has identified the victims as Hellem and Poage. The video, an early indication of rising tensions in the standoff between the company and the union, has been viewed thousands of times on YouTube.
A sheriff’s report said Brandon Keith Butler, 37 … later told a sheriff’s investigator that “he thought it wasn’t a good idea for him to stop” and he worried his vehicle was going to be damaged or he would be injured, according to the report. The report noted that Butler did not call 9-1-1 or contact law enforcement about the incident.