Downtown in distress: Portland’s core is unsafe and uninviting, residents say in new poll
Perception threatens city’s economic recovery By Jamie Goldberg, oregonlive.com (TNS)
Published: May 15, 2021, 8:31pm
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Residents across the metro area say downtown Portland has become dirty, unsafe and uninviting, and many anticipate visiting the city’s core less often after the pandemic than they did before.
Those are the worrisome findings of a new poll of 600 people in the Portland metro area commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Asked for their perceptions of downtown, respondents frequently used words like “destroyed,” “trashed,” “riots” and “sad.” Many cited homelessness as a particular issue, and said there is an urgent need for the city to find housing and support people living on the street.
Just what went down when a Gresham police officer killed Israel Berry in Portland a year ago? OregonLive.com 1 hr ago Maxine Bernstein, oregonlive.com
A Gresham police officer told investigators that he feared a car would run him over when he shot at it last year in a Portland neighborhood and killed the driver, his attorney told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
But Officer James Doyle’s account doesn’t appear to fully mesh with footage from his body camera, forensic evidence and statements from other officers at the scene, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Prosecutors are now working to bring the case to a grand jury to decide whether Doyle will face charges for his use of deadly force.
Downtown in distress: Portland’s core is unsafe and uninviting, residents say in new poll, threatening city’s recovery
Updated 10:00 AM;
Today 7:27 AM
Residents describe downtown as “destroyed,” “trashed,” “riots” and “sad. Persistent vandalism, accumulating trash and homelessness have soured attitudes about Portland s economic, cultural and transportation hub.Dave Killen/The Oregonian
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Residents across the metro area say downtown Portland has become dirty, unsafe and uninviting and many anticipate visiting the city’s core less often after the pandemic than they did before.
Those are the worrisome findings of a new poll of 600 people half who live within Portland’s city limits commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Asked for their perceptions of downtown, respondents frequently used words like “destroyed,” “trashed,” “riots” and “sad.” Many cited homelessness as a particular issue, and said there is an urgent need fo
FBI-led task force will help fight Portland gun violence
20 Portland officers to be federally deputized By Maxine Bernstein, oregonlive.com
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A new FBI-led task force will work with Portland police to build cases against people responsible for the dire rise in shootings in and around the city.
The agreement to create a multi-agency Metro Safe Streets Task Force came after much behind-the-scenes negotiation and a guarantee to set boundaries on the participation of Portland officers.
They will be deputized as federal officers but won’t do any immigration or crowd control enforcement in coordination or on behalf of federal law enforcement, under a memorandum of understanding reached with the city attorney’s office. The city can pull Portland officers out of the task force at any time.
Metro Safe Streets Task Force formed to reduce gun violence April 13 2021
Local and federal law enforcement agencies announce a new intiative to reduce gun violence in Portland.
Local and federal law enforcement authorities have reached agreement on a cooperative initiative to reduce gun violence.
The agreement was announced by Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt and Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug on Tuesday, March 31. They said the initiative is intended to coordinate and focus local and federal law enforcement resources on investigating and prosecuting gun crimes in Multnomah County.
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As part of the initiative, the U.S. Department of Justice will deputize a small contingent of local law enforcement officers to focus exclusively on investigating gun violence and crimes involving firearms. They will be assigned to a new Metro Safe Streets Task Force. Such task forces are already operating in other cities with high rates of shootings.