To the surprise of no one, Portland is seeing spikes in crime, including robberies and shootings, as the police bureau experiences a wave of officers bailing from the sinking ship in concert with the vast amount of resources required to respond to the nightly riots. They were already short staffed before the communist uprisings began in May. Quite frankly, the Portland police no longer have the resources and gender-non-specific-person power to respond to calls for help from the public.
The criminals know this and they are taking full advantage of the situation.
Appearing before media on Tuesday, the still relatively new police chief Chuck Lovell divulged just how far the bureau has sunk. He explains that at least fifty officers have retired just this month, calls for service wait in the que for longer than 20 hours, and how only four officers were available to respond to calls throughout the city on Saturday. “I’ve seen as many as eighty calls holding. We’ve had calls holding upwards of 20-something hours, depending on the staffing…. If you get a shooting or something that requires a lot of resources, there’s just no one to go sometimes…. August has been a busy month for us as far as retirements, too. We’ll have over 50 people who have retired in the month of August…. We’re a lean agency.”
Why he decided to openly broadcast to the public that the police can’t respond to anything is anyone’s guess. He’s basically telling the criminals that the city is fair game.
https://www.facebook.com/katunews/videos/369556637779256/
Promoted just last month, Lovell is Portland’s eighth chief in the last six years. He was jumped four ranks from Lieutenant to Chief, bypassing Captain, Commander, Assistant Chief, and Deputy Chief.
During this past Saturday’s riots, over 100 calls for service were on hold, with no officers available to respond. 60 calls were on hold during a prior riot earlier in the month. Response times, which were abysmal to start with, are also increasing.
Ride-along with Sgt. Silverman During Protests
On the night of August 21 – as protesters converged on North Precinct – Sgt. Silverman was one of only four patrol vehicles patrolling and taking priority calls in North Precinct. pic.twitter.com/1DLUoAq2HH— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) August 25, 2020
Earlier this month, PJ Media reported on the Portland police retirement wave:
By the time the month of August rolls off the calendar, there will have been a record number of Portland Police Bureau retirements. What that means is antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters’ demands that civil society “defund the police” and get “the pigs,” appear to be working in Portland, Oregon.
Portland – Antifistan – is on pace to lose the most cops ever to retirement.
So far this month, 15 Portland police officers have put in their official paperwork to retire at the end of the month. That sounds like a trifle, but there have been multiple appointments made to finalize the paperwork for more retiring cops that haven’t been counted in that number. The Bureau is on-trend to lose a “record number” of officers – maybe as many as 42 by the end of the month, and 100 by the end of the year, according to multiple knowledgeable officers who spoke to PJ Media.
An executive with the Portland Fire & Police Disability & Retirement department tells me that “this is probably the biggest [number of retirements] we’ve ever had.”
The situation is “fluid” and likely there will be many more retirements announced before the end of the month. The City of Portland executive told me that the retirements have been prompted by a multiplicity of things, including COVID-19, but, on balance, it’s the riots and attacks on police officers and budgetary “defund the police” antics that have demoralized the cops, causing them to get out.
As a result, Portland saw more shootings in July than any other month in 30 years. August started off with a shooting that included 150 rounds being fired. In another case a robber shot someone who intervened in the robbery. There was even a shootout between street racers, who know they can take over whatever streets they want at any time now.
A scroll down the Portland Police twitter feed shows stabbings, shootings, and robberies occurring across the city every day, sometimes multiple shootings in a single day.
Press Release: Update: Homicide Victim Identified (Photo)
Link: https://t.co/9WAi2QVAax pic.twitter.com/hiKaEYHgGF— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) August 26, 2020
Press Release: Shooting Investigation Underway in Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood, One Individual Injured
Link: https://t.co/vjqTxScX7V pic.twitter.com/Ul2ThNguqy— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) August 26, 2020
Press Release: Shooting Victim Suffers Serious Injuries in Glenfair Neighborhood
Link: https://t.co/LEq2bdHdfh pic.twitter.com/XAlHpP4ic7— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) August 23, 2020
And who does vichy “mayor” Ted Wheeler blame for the downfall of the city? Right wing Trump supporters, of course, using strawman arguments of “white nationalists” who “threaten” Portlanders, while saying nothing of the violent leftists who have been engaging in violence and destruction 90 consecutive nights. KGW reports:
On Monday night, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler released a statement on Saturday’s protests:
“I vehemently oppose what the Proud Boys and those associated with them stand for, and I will not tolerate hate speech and the damage it does in our city. White nationalists, particularly those coming to our city armed, threaten the safety of Portlanders, and are not welcome here,” Wheeler said. “Regarding Saturday afternoon’s protest, I am closely reviewing and discussing with Chief Lovell Portland Police Bureau’s strategy to limit their intervention in the right-wing protests and counter-demonstrations. We will share more information with the public. We are at a critical place where police officers are needed to intervene in protests where police officers themselves are the flashpoint.”
Portland used to be a great city, with a bustling music scene, creative art community, young entrepreneurs and start-up businesses, low crime, low cost of living, and an overall unique identity. Crazed liberal leadership has ruined all of it. Don’t let this happen to your city.
