A new approach on how do
they respond to downtown?
It has to do with the increase n
drug overdoses and homelessness.
So teams of about four officers
have now started patrolling on .
Last month, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler
ordered them to do this type of patrol
around SW 4th and Washington afa
slew of overdoses and drug deals there.
Now they're expanding
outside the downtown core,
but as Blair Best reports,
some days the officers don't get very far.
How's it going?
Going all good.
It's about trying to help people
like we always do, however we c.
It's all part of the latest
tactic for Portland police.
Be safe out here, OK?
As they increase their presenced
meet the city's most vulnerable
where they are. I've just
been seeing this for about a couple of days.
Kylie has been homeless in
Portland since she was 14. For ,
seeing the police only means one thing.
Everybody's like, OK,
we're all going to get arrested
because a lot of people who are
living on the streets obviously
have deal with like opioid prob,
methamphetamine problems and
stuff like that and not and the
police necessarily don't have
that good of a reputation. So
this team of four started
Tuesday's afternoon walking
patrol at SW 4th in Washington.
I would say downtown,
this side of downtown's in the
Old Town is probably the highes.
Concentration of drug use that we get.
Sergeant Kyle Heffley and his tm
respond to about 10 overdoses a day. If
we can stay ahead of and just ty
to help people out and let themw
that most of the time on the OD,
it's not somebody intentionally trying to
take something that's going to kill him,
It's they're taking something
that they don't know what it is.
When it comes to drugs on Portland streets,
fentanyl is the biggest concern for police.
They're trying to catch people g
and selling, but they're worried that
this new flesh eating drug Trank
will soon be making its rounds,
making the crisis out here even worse.
Let's go talk.
After circling the block,
they run into a group of homeles
people on the corner of SW 5th and Oak.
Probably the
best place you will be homeless,
Portland is Why is Portland the best place
to be homeless?
Turns out that woman was a
diversion to a possible drug
deal down the street. Typically
the groups that are using and selling drugs,
they'll see us, they'll scatter,
or they'll have one person
come up and talk to us,
kind of as a distraction,
and then they'll take off and go elsewhere.
But I mean, if we'll see as we go up here,
they usually recongregate
within 5 minutes or so.
It's an unusually quiet start to their
shift. But that didn't last lon.
He was in pursuit of this perso.
We're on bikes. He's trying
to flee on foot right now.
One block away, a driver escaping police
after they tried writing him a ticket
for smoking fentanyl behind the wheel,
ran 2 red lights and flipped thr
after crashing into two other vehicles.
We'll help you up, OK? We'll get you over
to the ambulance.
Yeah, this is a pretty frequent.
I mean, this is all the time.
I mean, not a crash of this lev,
obviously, this is pretty horri.
But as far as stopping people
for fentanyl use between just te
four bike officers, let's see.
It's not even 2:00. O'clock.
We've probably written 40 citats
today for just open air drug us.
Yeah. And you write 40 citation.
How many times do you try to get people
into treatment or offer referra?
That's the conversation.
So every single one of those
citations that we write,
it comes with a card.
And on that card, per measure, 110 is the
number for people to call for treatment.
But rarely do they ever pick up the phone.
Generally, people are like,
thanks, but no thanks.
Quite a few times,
people will just throw the citan
away right in front of us.
We issue them and it seems
like they don't go anywhere.
So it feels a bit helpless sometimes.
Sergeant Heffley's team moves forward.
They recognize an 18 year old
known for dealing drugs downtow.
They stopped him after he handed
his bag off and kept walking.
The reason we're stopping you is
people are selling drugs down h.
People are dying, OK?
A lot of people around your age,
the officers can't open his
bag without his permission,
which took 30 minutes to get.
I'm going to have you sign this
and then we'll go from there.
Do I want to take you to jail now? OK.
Inside was a 22 caliber gun wit0
rounds and a bag of marijuana, he says.
He carries the gun for protection after
getting stabbed three times last week.
Being out here and being presend
having the ability to talk to people.
And do like we did today and
take a gun off the street is
beneficial to everybody downtown
as they try to save lives one step at a time.
They're used to seeing us driviy
in cars and we're usually so buy
just going from call to call to call.
But when we can walk up and hava
conversation with somebody and let them know,
hey, we're not just out here.
We're obviously trying to help e
businesses and let them see us,
but we're equally out here to to
help people see what we can do for them
in Southwest Portland.
Blair Best, KG W News.