19 Comments
User's avatar
Michaela Lowthian's avatar

US Customs House, empty I think, would make a great North Park precinct, or a police pop-up

Kathryn S.'s avatar

Take note city council...public safety is under attack

Paul Douglas's avatar

This City Council and this Mayor definitely DO NOT care about Public Safety, which should be the foundational concern underlying the entire political program of governance in this City, County and State. And the worst of these incompetent clowns are the DSA faction in our supposedly "nonpartisan" City Council.

Autumn's avatar

It's infuriating. When people tell me the foie gras ban is no big deal, THIS is why it's so problematic. City Councilors wasting MY money and time when our once beautiful and safe neighborhoods are too dangerous to walk in during broad daylight.

ERVIN SIVERSON's avatar

I just received a mailer from Sameer Kanal touting his successes over the past year, many of them being code words for defunding the police. For example, stating he “sponsored a resolution establishing Portland Street Response as a co-equal first response branch and creating a new Portland Street Response Committee to recenter community in planning the future of behavioral health response.” Can’t imagine how well it would have gone if PSR had been the responding team to this situation. Now, I kid you not, he actually said, at a D2 community meeting, that he didn’t think graveyard police officers should be armed, that first responders should not be carrying a gun.

Scott Spencer's avatar

Not sure whether the North Park Blocks are actually getting worse, but it certainly feels that way. There’s a group of people who regularly gather on the steps of the old WeWork building, and they don’t appear to be up to much good. You see police there on a regular basis, yet nothing ever seems to change.

Linda Witt's avatar

There is some speculation that Oasis is making things worse on the nearby blocks.

JW's avatar

There is no doubt in my mind that is the case. They’ve basically turned the area into a “sanctioned” skid row. I go out of my way to not even drive through there, much less walk.

Ollie Parks's avatar

At least the North Park Blocks are a sanctuary for polyamorous ducks now, thanks to the close attention certain city councilors are paying to solving Portland's most pressing problems.

Linda Witt's avatar

What a horrific example of what happens when the city and county fail to deal with the extreme mental health crises that occur on our streets EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Thomas Dodson's avatar

This needs to be approached with the same investigation of prior police and mental health actions on this individual with an eye to what needed to happen to change the outcome. This type of behavior is even more unhinged than Whitman who attacked the MAC club and needs much more detail. What were his prior offenses and contact with mental health? What drugs were in his system at the time he committed the prior and incident offenses? My guess is that he probably was not fully prosecuted for previous offenses and likely refused mental health care. Weak civil commitment and criminal justice interventions are the rule in Portland. It is a part of the culture of Portland to be passive in the face of criminality.

mechanic's avatar

And how quickly will this derranged person be released back into the public? And, how quickly will our enlightened city council spend time, energy and OUR money to deliberate about the body autonomy rights this individual has been denied. I mean, since the life threatening foie gras rampage is now under control.

Way to go Portland.

ruby reichardt's avatar

Don’t even know what to say anymore. My dog senses crazy people at dusk and refuses to walk the Pearl at night. But let’s focus on the Moda center to send our taxes.

JW's avatar

Not even sure what to say anymore other than the only hope is to systematically vote out every person who is allowing the city (and state) to be needlessly destroyed. Then they must be replaced with people truly willing to be honest about what is happening and who possess the brains/fortitude to address it. This is beyond pathetic. The entire DSA must go, the county representatives and chair must be replaced, and the governor too. That’s just a start - Portland has become the definition of insanity on all fronts.

Kathryn S.'s avatar

Where's our Nicholas Kristof?

Marc's avatar

City Council gets a failing grade in its most important priority: the safety of its citizenry. These people need to be scruitinized very carefully. What ass their priority when the campained? The standard excuse is there is not enough money in the budget. Ha, I say let's do a 100% examination of the budget and end any service that takes our money because the City thinks it can spend it better than we can. Enough already, Budgets do not have to increase every year. We need a fresh examination of where we want money spent.

Richard Vidan's avatar

Portland government needs to get its act together. Can we not walk and chew gum at the same time? We should be able to be sympathetic to and try to help the homeless and the street people and the mentally ill while, at the same time, not let ourselves be victimized by them.

Kathryn S.'s avatar

Serious thought should be given to recall Wilson...he's just not getting it.