Jury awards $1M to Oregon woman who was told ‘I don’t serve Black people’ after trying to get gas

A jury has awarded an Oregon woman $1 million in damages after finding she was discriminated against by a gas station employee who told her, “I don’t serve Black people.”

The Multnomah County jury’s award this week to Portland resident Rose Wakefield, 63, included punitive damages of $550,000.

Wakefield’s lawyer, Gregory Kafoury, said she stopped for gas at Jacksons Food Store in Beaverton on March 12, 2020, and saw the attendant, Nigel Powers, ignore her and instead pump gas for other drivers.

When she tried to ask for assistance, he said, “I’ll get to you when I feel like it,” according to Kafoury.

Attendants are required to pump fuel for motorists at gas stations in Oregon’s larger population centers including Portland and the nearby suburb of Beaverton...