The message below came to us from a reader via Facebook. I’m sharing it here with permission from the victim.
Today, Feb 8, 2020, my spouse and I were returning from a ride along the esplanade. I’m a bit slow because I’m recovering from a full hysterectomy and appendectomy. My husband was waiting for me along the curb headed north on N. Williams just after Broadway.
As I was crossing N. Broadway (during green light in bike lane), a Dodge Ram 2500 began to approach me with driver revving the engine billowing black smoke and squealing the wheels. At one point his truck stopped next to me and the white male driver stepped on the gas pedal with his brakes on and started fish-tailing until the backend of his truck almost hit me. It was terrifying.
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“I’m concerned that these complaints won’t be taken seriously by the City until someone is killed.”
Although he was panicked, my husband was able to get a picture of the truck and a witness got the license plate number (it was from Washington). I immediately called 911 to report the incident. Once we returned home, I called the non-emergency line and explained that I wanted to file charges for reckless endangerment. The officer assigned to me said that they were initially unable to respond because a large portion of police resources were assigned to the KKK protest at the courthouse. I asked if I would receive a follow up call from PPB [Portland Police Bureau]. He said that unless I could describe what the man looked like, a case wouldn’t holdup with the DA. He also said that detectives go to Washington state for serious offenses only. The officer advised that if for some reason the plate number is pulled in the system, law enforcement would see my complaint.
I’m concerned that these complaints won’t be taken seriously by the City until someone is killed.
When I asked this person if I could share their story here, she said:
Yes, please do use my story on your site. It’s incredibly frustrating and perhaps we’ll learn through user comments if this is happening to others and what their experience was after reporting the event to the Portland Police Bureau.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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