Officer acquitted in assault case resigns

PORTLAND – A police detective acquitted of assault three months ago in an alleged brutality case resigned his post after receiving $27,500 in back pay and benefits.

Patrick DeCourcey submitted his resignation Wednesday night after signing an agreement that gives him wages he lost while on unpaid leave for six months after being indicted on assault charges.

Brian Regan, a fellow detective who was acquitted in the same trial, was demoted when he returned to work last month. Regan lost his wages from his unpaid leave after an internal affairs investigation found he had violated the department’s policy on use of force.

DeCourcey, who never returned to the department, chose to leave rather than subject himself to the same disciplinary process.

DeCourcey and Regan had been charged with using excessive force against Michael Esposito, who was arrested after a high-speed chase last September in the city’s West End.

Both officers have been named in a civil lawsuit filed by Esposito in U.S. District Court.