PORTLAND CRIME: Homeless Woman Pickpockets Unconscious Drug User In Broad Daylight
After just two hours of walking through downtown Portland, I witnessed an attempted robbery and a drug user overdosing while being pickpocketed on the street.
On Monday, in the middle of an interview with a Portland citizen, an attempted robbery took place after a homeless man tried to steal from a local corner store.
The resident who stopped him from stealing shared, “he went in there, he’s got over $1,000 on his food card, he got some energy drinks, but then on the way out he grabbed an ice cream and tried to steal it,” she shared.
While the item in question was a simple pint of ice cream, this is apparently a daily occurrence for this Portland business owner.
When asked if theft was something that happens often, she stated this happens “almost everyday, everyday a couple times.”
Luckily, this was a minor incident compared to the overdose that would take place down the block just two hours later.
Around 4pm a man was seen lying unconscious surrounded by exposed needles while a homeless woman dug through his pockets.
Upon arriving at the scene, the man had his pants down with his genitalia completely exposed. Police were actively on their way during the filming of the video and the man ended up gaining consciousness before being taken to the hospital. Officials suspected this was a fentanyl related overdose.
These two incidents are a small example of the larger drug and crime problem that has plagued Portland for years.
During 2020 the state of Oregon passed Ballot Measure 110 that decriminalized hard drugs while sending over $300 million to statewide drug addiction services.
Residents and experts have shared this measure has only exacerbated Oregon’s drug issues as drug use, homelessness, crime and prostitution plague the streets.
