Feds pay $125K after Border Patrol agent pointed gun at Portland hotel worker https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/01/feds-pay-125k-after-border-patrol-agent-pointed-gun-at-portland-hotel-worker.html

The federal government Friday agreed to pay $125,000 after a judge found a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent liable for civil assault for pointing a gun at a hotel maintenance man who came to the agent’s room to unclog a toilet.

Jones was staying in Room 428 at the Residence Inn by Marriott in North Portland and had called down to the front desk to report a malfunctioning toilet.

Christopher Frison, a chief maintenance engineer at the hotel, arrived at Jones’ room about 5 p.m. on July 27, 2020, and knocked several times. Frison also called out “maintenance,” gave his name and waited, holding a plunger, he testified in court.

That’s when “Jones opened the door ready to defend himself and his room,” according to U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson’s 22-page opinion.

According to Frison, Jones was wearing a sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head when he “swung” the hotel door open, reached with his right hand behind his back and suddenly pointed a handgun at Frison’s chest. He said Jones held his gun in two hands, both arms outstretched.

“What the hell are you doing? What is going on?” Frison said he screamed. “All I could see was the white of his eyes. I could see the anger in his face. I wasn’t there as a threat. I was there as a maintenance worker.”

Frison testified that Jones pointed the gun at him for four to five seconds before uttering twice that he “f----- up.”

The judge found that Frison’s lawyers didn’t need to prove that Jones intended to shoot Frison or cause him physical injury. It didn’t matter if the gun was loaded or not, according to her opinion. It was clear Jones “intended” to place Frison in fear of imminent harm, she ruled.

“Simply put, that Jones opened the door quickly and pointed a gun at plaintiff is sufficient to establish defendant’s liability for civil assault,” Nelson wrote.