LGBTQ Community To Hold Town Hall Meeting Sunday
Portland, Or. – Leaders of Portand’s LGBTQ community will meet tomorrow to discuss recent reports of attacks of transgender people and make plans for a community town hall meeting Sunday. Debra Porta, head of Pride NW says “we’re going to come together to be together as we always do and figure out what we’re going to do as a community to move forward and ensure we’re all safe.” Sunday’s meeting will be at the Q Center in North Portland.
Portland Police say they are monitoring rumors of bias attacks. This is the news release it issued.
On Sunday, February 10, 2019, police responded to a report of an assault in the area of SE 15th Avenue and SE Morrison Street. The officer who responded talked to the community member, but the officer noted that the person was intoxicated and appeared to have fallen. The person was transported by ambulance for medical treatment.
The victim called to make an assault report later from the hospital. Initially it was not reported as a bias attack, but online posts suggested the victim believed it may have been. At that time, the case was assigned to bias crime detectives in the Detectives Division Assault Detail for follow up. Detectives reached out to community members, including the reporting person. So far the detectives have been unable to confirm that a crime occurred or that anyone else was involved in the injury to the reporting person. However, the investigation continues, and detectives ask for anyone with information to come forward.
Since then, PPB has learned of numerous social media posts suggesting there have been a rash of attacks on LGTBQ community members in southeast Portland. As of now Bias Crimes Detectives have not received any recent bias related attacks.
PPB has proactively reached out to community stakeholders to brief them on what we have learned, and to encourage any victims or witnesses to contact law enforcement.
The Bureau investigates all reports of bias-motivated crimes and encourages any member of our community who is the victim of such a crime to contact law enforcement. Under Oregon law, bias crimes are defined as any criminal act that targets a victim based on the suspect’s perception of the victim’s race, color, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin. Detectives work to determine whether or not bias elements are present during the reported crime that align with Oregon law as defined in the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS):
ORS 166.165 – Intimidation in the First Degree – https://www.oregonlaws.org/
ORS 166.155 – Intimidation in the Second Degree – https://www.oregonlaws.org/
If you have been the victim of a bias crime assault or you are witnessing one, immediately call 9-1-1. If you have been the victim of a different bias crime and the suspect is no longer present, such as vandalism or graffiti, please call the non-emergency line at 503-823-3333.
To learn more about bias crime investigations and reported bias/hate crime statistics within the City of Portland, please visit https://www.portlandoregon.
Additionally, the City of Portland is a partner in Portland United Against Hate, which is a community initiated partnership of Community Based Organizations, Neighborhood Associations, concerned communities and the City. To learn more, please visit https://www.portlandoregon.
