According to Terese Korpela, who worked at the Dutch Bros coffee drive-through when she was seventeen years old and a high school student, police officer Eric Zwald stopped up two or three times a day.
She claimed that Zwald eventually informed her that he could access her personal data.
According to Korpela, he once typed her name into the mobile data terminal in his Scappoose police car, turned the computer screen in her direction, and showed her. She added that he looked through her mother’s file as well.
On certain nights, Zwald would wait for Korpela and her young female coworkers to depart in the parking lot outside the Dutch Bros. in his patrol car. According to Korpela, he once provided them with his personal phone number and instructed them to call him if they ever needed him.
Korpela tried to avoid taking Zwald s order when he drove through at times because he made her feel uneasy, she said.
So he would say he was not leaving until I came up and said, Hi, she recalled. He recognized the automobile I drove and my license plate. It was really uncomfortable.
Zwald, 51, admitted to running Korpela through the state Law Enforcement Data Systems computer database on September 22 and 29, 2022, in an effort to get a personal advantage, and he entered a guilty plea to two charges of first-degree official misconduct in Columbia County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
Zwald signed a form agreeing to voluntarily surrender his Oregon police certification for life and have no contact with Korpela, now 20.
The court will revoke the plea and conviction if he follows those guidelines and doesn’t commit any more misdemeanor offenses or more serious charges within the following 18 months.
The plea agreement stipulates that he will be imprisoned for 60 days if he doesn’t.
According to state law, the police database may only be used for permitted objectives, such as executing state traffic and criminal laws, locating towed or impounded vehicles, screening potential hires, and locating vehicles or individuals connected to criminal investigations.
According to the indictment and Multnomah County Deputy District Charlie Weiss, who oversaw the prosecution in Columbia County, Zwald was charged with four other counts of official misconduct, including running the names of other women through the database in September and October 2022 and March 1, 2023, for personal gain.
The four other women were Korpela s co-workers at Dutch Bros., slightly older than she was at the time, Korpela said. Those charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement, Weiss said.
While attending the nearby Scappoose High School, Terese Korpela worked at the local Dutch Bros. in Scappoose when she was just 17 years old. She claimed that while she was working at the window, Officer Eric Zwald came by two or three times per day.Staff Member Maxine Bernstein
Korpela, who currently resides in a different state, stated that although she was aware of the matter, she was unaware that it could be dropped provided Zwald complies with the law for the next year and a half.
She added that requiring Zwald to have no communication with anyone other than her is insufficient.
I wasn t the only person affected by him, she said. He was borderline predatory toward everybody I worked with.
During the brief plea hearing before Circuit Judge Michael T. Clarke, Zwald was accompanied by defense attorney Julio Vidrio. Other than submitting the plea, they didn’t say much during the hearing. Later inquiries asking Vidrio for comment on the case’s specifics were not answered.
Zwald began his career as a St. Helens police officer in late April 2019, however he left the department on October 4, 2019. On April 20, 2020, he was employed by Scappoose police. State records show that on January 1, 2023, he was placed on leave from Scappoose police.
A Columbia County grand jury returned a six-count indictment against Zwald on Feb. 15 of this year.
Inquiries from The Oregonian/OregonLive regarding Zwald’s position throughout the previous year and whether he was receiving compensation while on leave were forwarded to the city manager by Scappoose police.
According to Benjamin Burgener, the city manager, Zwald has not worked for Scappoose police since March 2024. Until then, he did not specify if Zwald was on paid leave.
A conviction for first-degree official misconduct misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of $6,250 in fines and 364 days in jail.
Zwald s prosecution is the latest development in a county rocked by alleged sexual misconduct cases filed against two teachers from St. Helens High School — a retiredmath teacherand a now-firedchoir teacher. Both men have entered not guilty pleas to charges of student sexual abuse.
In addition, the high school principal entered a not guilty plea to an indictment alleging that she neglected to disclose the instructors’ alleged sexual assault as required by law.
— Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, [email protected], follow her on X@maxoregonian, or onLinkedIn.
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