This is in Portland. Intruder with knife, boy being held: No Portland police response for 1 hour, 36 minutes
Guy with a knife threatening a kid and his dad. There were numerous calls to 911. Neighbors cornered him a block away. Cops never came, until after he had run off.
Police conceded the delay was unacceptable. They repeated what they’ve said to address previous criticism for holding back or recent slow response times: Their ranks are strapped by record retirements, covering months of social justice protests and other constraints.
Funny, I thought the people of Portland wanted to Defund the Police. I guess it isn’t actually all of the people who feel that way.
The first 911 call came in at 12:41.
Dispatch noted at 12:49 p.m.: “No units avail,” meaning no officers available to respond.
There is a fair amount of detail from dispatch to the 911 center, about how there were no officers to send.
Neighbor Dianna McAllister said police could have arrested the man if they had arrived sooner.
“A weapon and a child was involved,” she said. “If the police can’t respond to something serious like that, it’s just scary.
So, maybe you don’t want to defund the police?
Calling 911 is a fine thing to do, but when seconds count, police are only minutes away. And in some cases, they may not respond for a good long time. You should have a plan for what you will do while you wait.