Portland’s public safety commissioner has advised people not to call 911 unless their lives are in danger – as the Democratic-run city continues to struggle with rampant drug use and a series of overdoses.
Commissioner Rene Gonzalez told locals that the emergency hotline was overwhelmed with calls from citizens suffering from fentanyl overdoses. Oregon decriminalized hard drug use three years ago.
He therefore urged people to only call 911 in life-threatening emergencies.
Portland’s neighborhoods have been inundated with crime, homelessness and drugs since the pandemic – and despite money being poured into relief initiatives, little is changing on the city’s streets.
Commissioner Rene Gonzalez wrote today
A group of drug users on NW Davis St in downtown Portland. Since the decriminalization of hard drug use in 2020, the city has seen an increase in fentanyl overdose deaths
“Please do not call 911 unless it is a life-threatening emergency or a crime in progress (or if there is a possibility of arresting a suspect).”
The warning came hours after eight people seen snorting cocaine overdosed just blocks from each other.
It is understood the cocaine they consumed was likely laced with fentanyl.
Portland Fire and Rescue confirmed that eight people overdosed shortly after 10 a.m. Monday near Northwest Park Avenue and West Burnside Street.
Four people were hospitalized for treatment of the overdose.
The remaining four were administered Narcan, a drug used to reverse an opioid overdose, at the scene.
Portland’s neighborhoods have been inundated with crime, homelessness and drugs since the pandemic – and despite money being poured into relief initiatives, little is changing on the city’s streets
According to the Portland Police Bureau, there were a total of 104 homicides in the city between August 2022 and August 2023. Most of these occurred in the city center.
During the same period there were 529 arrests for “drug and narcotics offenses”.
The number of homicides in Portland since January currently stands at 59.
In July, Portland opened its first sanctioned homeless park and shocking images showed that drug abuse and illegal camping continued to plague the streets.
Oregon’s largest city is in the midst of a devastating humanitarian crisis. The number of homeless people has increased by almost 50 percent to over 5,000 since 2019.
The hyper-woke local government is pinning its hopes of reversing the trend on a series of expensive new shelters.
Disturbing images showed rows of disheveled tents taking over the streets while residents left behind openly abused hard drugs on the sidewalks.
The city’s push to establish official homeless shelters appears to have done little to end scenes like this one, in which addicts openly abuse drugs on NW Broadway in downtown Portland
Chris, 28, smokes crack cocaine on the streets of downtown Portland in broad daylight
A drug ban makes some of the homeless population reluctant to move to city-sanctioned campsites while allowing them to continue using drugs on the streets
According to official figures, around 2,000 of the city’s homeless population are sheltered, while around 3,000 sleep outside.
The crisis was exacerbated by the pandemic and a 2018 court ruling that left cities across much of the West, including Portland, unable to prevent people from sleeping outside when alternative accommodations were not available.
Public scenes of blatant drug abuse then went into overdrive after Oregon voters approved a 2020 ballot measure that effectively decriminalized the possession of hard drugs like meth and opioids.
To end the crisis, Portland has approved $27 million in financing for three temporary alternative sites. Three more will be funded by Multnomah County. At the same time, a ban on day camping was issued, which came into force on July 7th.
And Portland residents are more than fed up with local and state politicians at loggerheads as recent polls show they want a quick solution to the problems.
In a poll by People for Portland, a conservative advocacy group, more than two-thirds of voters wanted to clear the streets by forcing drug addicts into rehab.
Three-quarters of voters called homelessness in the city “an out-of-control disaster.”