Defund the police' councilwoman orders crime-ridden city of Portland to use more TRAFFIC CONES to
tackle surge in drive-by shootings
A Portland City Commissioner who has called for defunding the police has ordered the city's Bureau of Transportation to use traffic barrels in an effort to curb gun violence.
Transportation Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty ordered the Bureau of Transportation to install the orange traffic barrels across a six-block area in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood, which has a string of shootings in recent weeks.
Some have been linked to high-speed drivers, the Portland Tribune reports.
Hardesty noted that there are no 'simple solutions' to solve the shooting epidemic, and said officials must bring an 'all-hands-on-deck' creative mindset to combat the problem.
'I'm directing PBOT to be more active and engaged in holistic solutions to community safety that can supplement police and other bureaus' role in this effort,' she said in a statement on October 1.
Transportation Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has ordered the Bureau of Transportation to install the orange traffic barrels in an effort to reduce gun violence
City workers have already installed eight traffic barrels in the neighborhood, the Tribune reports, and will add another 18 next week.
After that, Hardesty said, she will evaluate the program and consider taking further action. The Bureau of Transportation estimates the cost of installing the new barrels at $2,000 to $3,000 total.
'I understand that there are neighborhoods all over Portland that would like to see this kind of close collaboration,' she said. 'At this moment, neither PBOT nor my office have the resources or capacity to pull that off, but if this pilot is successful, it will inform a budget proposal to allow more of this action moving forward.'
'We understand that this will not solve everything,' she continued. 'It is one step of many that we, together with the commissioner and her officer are working on to achieve change.'
Derek Sims, though, did not seem as happy with the plan.
He told the Tribune he planned to sell his home and move to Florida after witnessing three drive-by shootings in two weeks.
'The barrels are spray painted and knocked down every single night,' he said of the cones that were already placed in the neighborhood as part of the Safe Streets Strategy - designed to reserve more roadway space for cyclists and pedestrians.
'It's a joke.'
Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has called for the police department's Rapid Response Team to be formally disbanded after all its members resigned in protest
All 50 members of the team quit after Officer Corey Budworth was indicted for allegedly striking a photographer during a protest in August 2020. Cops are pictured tackling a rioter in Portland on the same night
Hardesty has previously stated that most 911 calls are unnecessary and was one of the city's main advocates in cutting $18million from the Portland Police Department's budget.
She said in a statement that the resignations are a sign that 'the good old boy network is crumbling and we can either be a part of the change or part of the status quo - but the arc of justice is bending quickly, and it's imperative that the Portland City Council lands on the right side of history.'
But she had faced calls of hypocrisy last year, when, amid her efforts to defund the police, she called 911 to report that a ride share driver dropped her off at a gas station she claimed was closed for the night.
The Lyft driver refused to close the windows for her in November 2020 due to COVID concerns, and when Hardesty complained, he canceled the ride and told her to get out at a gas station on the side of the road.
Meanwhile, Portland is on track to see its deadliest year on record, according to KATU, with 837 shooting incidents occurring between January 1 and August 31.
The largest year over year increase was reported in the North Precinct, where there were 383 shootings by August 31 - more than double the amount from the same time period in 2020.
