
A segment that aired Tuesday night on KGW, Portland’s NBC affiliate station, got a few things wrong about bike theft in Portland. (Note: See update at end of story posted on 4/16.)
The Story with Dan Haggerty spent about six minutes on the topic, framed around the assertion that the Portland Police Bureau’s Bike Theft Task Force (BTTF) has been “eliminated” due to recent police budget cutbacks.
Unfortunately, the central idea and framing of the segment is untrue. The BTTF is alive and was never shut down. Worse yet, host Dan Haggerty perpetuates harmful and unfair stereotypes about people who live on the street.