Portland bar owner says business robbed three times in a month: We’re ‘on our own’

A Portland, Oregon, bar-restaurant owner whose business was robbed three times in November is sounding the alarm on rising crime after the city’s police department tweeted they would only be responding to 911 calls about serious crimes.

In a Dec. 6 tweet, Portland Police wrote this: “Due to critical incidents happening today and PPB’s staffing shortage, officers are responding to Priority 1 and 2 calls only right now and response time may be delayed for certain calls.”

Due to critical incidents happening today and PPB’s staffing shortage, officers are responding to Priority 1 and 2 calls only right now and response times may be delayed for certain calls.

— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) December 6, 2021

During an appearance on “Fox & Friends First,” Jim Rice, owner of The Fields Bar & Grill, called the comments by police “unbelievable.”

“They’re basically just stating what we already know which is that basically, Portland is now on their own. They don’t have enough police staffing to be able to support all the demands that are coming at them right now.”

Rice noted that Portland now retains the smallest police force for a city of their size across the U.S. despite politicians “working the last 18 months” to defund the police, instead of trying to make the city safer. – READ MORE