A child was nearly abducted Saturday from a park in leftist-run Portland, Oregon, allegedly by a naked man, until community members intervened because there were not enough police officers to respond to their calls for help.
The incident happened at Tom McCall Waterfront Park when the suspect, 31-year-old Daniel Vasey, allegedly tried to snatch the seven-year-old girl, KPTV reported Sunday.
Police said callers had alerted them to the naked man before he approached the child and allegedly grabbed her. He was accused of trying to drag her in one direction while her mother held onto her other arm.
However, the child’s father and community members hit the man while trying to free the girl and the suspect was also pepper sprayed.
In a news release, police said dispatchers notified officers assigned to the Central Precinct that a naked man was in that area and had allegedly tried to punch one of the callers in the head.
“All police officers were busy with other calls including an incident involving a disturbance with a gun, and none were available to respond,” the agency explained, adding that when a third caller reported the naked man had tried to grab the child, dispatchers sent officers from the North Precinct.
“When officers arrived, officers located the naked suspect wading in the Willamette River and arrested him. Officers determined that the victim was not seriously injured. The girl was checked by paramedics at the scene and treated for scratches, but she was not transported by ambulance,” police said, noting the victim’s family said they were visiting from out of state.
“Vasey was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of Attempted Kidnapping in the First Degree, Attempted Kidnapping in the Second Degree, Custodial Interference in the First Degree, Assault in the Third Degree, and Harassment,” the agency stated.
The news came after KPTV reported on July 6 that the Portland Police Bureau handled a surge of violent incidents over the Fourth of July holiday as the agency is grappling with a staffing shortage that has affected response times.
Chief Bob Day said the bureau is lacking 200 to 250 officers and is an “understaffed, under-resourced police department.”
The KPTV article noted, “The city’s recently approved budget includes $21 million in cuts to the police bureau, targeting support staff and services rather than officer positions. Day has warned the cuts could still contribute to longer response times.”
When speaking of the recent incident involving the seven-year-old girl and the police response time, a woman told KOIN:
It’s telling families, it’s telling mothers, you can’t rely on anything else, you’re gonna need to prepare yourself for the absolute worst. It’s unacceptable, that’s so unacceptable. Because imagine he had a vehicle, imagine he was working with another person. That child could have been gone.
The city is run by progressive Mayor Keith Wilson, who features “He/Him” pronouns on his official bio.
It is also important to note that Portland’s city commissioners cut nearly $16 million from police in 2020 as officer morale was extremely low and crime was rising in the city, according to Breitbart News.
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