Several cities are no doubt hoping to leave their surging homicides in 2021 as the new year begins. If that is the hope for Portland, it is off to a rough start.
Portland saw its first two homicides of 2022 just hours into the new year. Those victims have now been identified as Andre Foster and his nephew Quayan Foster. A third person was also shot but is expected to survive. The next day, another person was shot and killed in the city.
In 2021, Portland saw more homicides than San Francisco and more than double the amount of Seattle, despite having a smaller population than both. According to the Portland Police Bureau, the city saw a record 90 homicides last year. Oregonian reporter Shane Kavanaugh (reporting preliminarily before three more murders were added to the official count) pointed out just how severe the increase in shootings and people wounded in shootings has been for Portland over the last few years.
The worst part is that this was entirely predictable. Portland, a city that tolerated rioting for years, folded before the “defund the police” movement in 2020, slashing police funding by $15 million and disbanding several specialized units, including one that investigated gun violence. The city did all it could to neuter its own police department, including preventing officers from using riot-dispersal tools, while Multnomah County repeatedly declined to prosecute rioters.
Weakening your police department while excusing lawlessness in the streets makes for an unstable environment. Naturally, violence escalated. Portland’s homicide issue has become worse, and 2022 is not off to a great start.
Mayor Ted Wheeler and the city council let the violence in Portland get out of hand. They have been unable to put their foot down and make it clear that violence and lawlessness are not acceptable. And Portland residents simply don’t care enough to vote them out and pursue change. It’s a toxic combination, and there is no sign that things will get better in 2022.
