PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office announced it’s working together with the Portland Police Bureau on a new plan to bring car and retail thieves to justice.
The DA tells KOIN 6 News it will announce two new task forces early next week — one for auto theft, and one for retail theft.
The announcement follows several dangerous confrontations on Portland streets in recent weeks, including back-to-back cases where witnesses and good samaritans tried to assert themselves to stop active car thefts — only to find the thieves aren’t scared of being seen.
On consecutive days, neighbors captured people in a gray Acura sedan with a roof rack and no license plates, trying to steal vehicles right outside their homes during the day. Both confrontations escalated to dangerous levels.
Last Monday, neighbors in NE Portland say when they told the thieves to leave, the man driving tried hitting them with his car before finally driving out of the neighborhood.
The very next day, surveillance footage captured another NE Portland resident telling a stranger to get out of their friend’s car. Police say the suspected thief threw a punch at the resident and the brawl quickly escalated into the street, where the suspect pulled out a gun and shot. The resident was able to dodge the bullet.
Sarah Johnson, the director of Rose City Self-Defense, says these crimes scare her.
“Normally, we would say act assertively, say something, speak up for yourself because most people with ill intent aren’t looking for somebody who is going to speak up, so the fact that this person is escalating very quickly is unusual,” she said.
In both of these car theft confrontations, the neighbors and victims said their initial thought was “What are police going to do?”
In both cases, the victims and their families told KOIN 6 the police response and follow-up was dismal. As a result, they’d like the city to develop a road map for what to expect from law enforcement in these kinds of violent situations.
“What is the protocol? What should we expect? I think the biggest challenge for us as a Portland citizen (is that) we have no understanding of what the expectation should be,” said Sean Cho, whose son was shot at in one of the incidents.
Portland Police Association President Aaron Schmautz says the mission of law enforcement is to address actual crime and the fear of crime.
“People are facing a real frustration with the criminal justice system at every level. There’s a wait just to get in line. Then there’s a wait for the officers to show up. They feel like their concerns aren’t heard,” he said.
Schmautz says the city and county are acutely aware of this growing problem of citizens thinking police won’t respond in time to help them, leading people to act in a way that could put themselves or others in danger.
“The amount of time it will take police to get there is hugely dependent on what else is going on throughout the city. So, make good choices, be a good witness. It’s the responsibility of law enforcement to be really responsive to those situations as well,” he said.
Schmautz says 911 dispatch is still severely understaffed, but bargaining is currently underway to address that. He also wants to assure Portlanders that progress is on the horizon.
“We’re hiring more officers. The governor just gave a big chunk of money so we can speed up getting officers through the academy. The direction and support for law enforcement is pointed in the right direction,” he said.
If you see a property crime in progress, Johnson encourages you to call 911 first before inserting yourself into a potentially dangerous situation.
“You’ve got to trust your own internal alarm system, that intuition, that gut feeling, and maybe it’s going to tell you ‘oops maybe I shouldn’t have said that, maybe I need to tone it down and deescalate the situation,'” she said.
Mayor Wheeler says that community safety is his top priority in a statement sent to KOIN 6 News.
“Community safety continues to be a top priority for Mayor Wheeler and his team. We’re working with our public safety partners to increase staffing at the Portland Police Bureau so they can ramp up patrols, car theft and vandalism missions, respond more quickly to emergency calls, and bring those involved with crime to justice. Recently, Governor Kotek and Mayor Wheeler announced a shared commitment to advocate that the Oregon legislature increase capacity at DPSST to help get newly hired police officers on the streets more quickly. The lack of mental and behavioral health resources has contributed to increased crimes and violence. The Mayor has been very vocal on the slow rollout of service funds that were attached to Measure 110. This, combined with severe lack of mental and behavioral health services in Oregon, have created significant challenges for Portland and other cities across the state. We’re continuing to work closely with Multnomah County to find ways we can work together in addressing these issues locally. While the County oversees human services, we want to be a good partner as mental and behavioral health intersect with homelessness, crime and other top priorities in Portland.“