Charges against officer dropped in Portland

PORTLAND – Misdemeanor assault charges against a Portland police officer who was involved in an off-duty bar fight have been dismissed after he and the alleged victims reached a private settlement.

A District Court judge accepted the arrangement involving 30-year-old Officer Todd Bacon, who remains on unpaid administrative leave from the Portland Police Department pending an internal investigation of his conduct.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Bacon’s lawyer says the officer was defending himself in the July 2 fight in the city’s Old Port district that began when Bacon told a man to stop making offensive comments to some women. The alleged victims did not spell out their version of events in court filings.