File – Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell attends a news conference. (AP Photo)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 10:42 AM PT – Thursday, April 8, 2021
The Chief of Police in Portland, Oregon appears hesitant to support a new proposal to reduce shooting violence. On Wednesday, Chief Chuck Lovell said that gun violence prevention was a “complex issue” and that in order to combat the recent surge in reported incidents, the police department would need more support.
The proposal was adopted unanimously by the city council early Wednesday and allocates $6 million to promote a “holistic approach to community safety.” While organizations like the park ranger program are slated to receive funds, Lovell pointed out that the police department would get nothing.
“We welcome any resources that are going to help, long and short term, to address this in our community,” stated the police chief. “We continue to field our enhanced community safety team and our homicide detectives, and our investigative resources are working hard to bend the curve on gun violence in the city.”
A lot of factors contribute to police call time response. Our officers want to get to emergency calls as quickly as possible and we need your help. This video goes behind the scenes to explore this important topic. pic.twitter.com/n8r19wj3ef
— Chief Chuck Lovell (@ChiefCLovell) April 6, 2021
After the riots during the summer of 2020, a number of police officers in Portland resigned leaving the department with nearly 100 vacancies. Lovell warned demanding an already short-staffed department to do extra work with no additional resources could result in slow response times to other crimes across the city.
