(NewsNation) —The safety commissioner of Portland, Oregon, urged residents Monday not to call 911 except in the event of a life-or-death emergency due to drug overdose calls overwhelming the system.
“Our 911 system is getting hammered this morning with a multiple person incident — multiple overdoses in northwest park blocks,” Rene Gonzalez, Portland’s city commissioner of public safety, posted to social media Monday. “Please do not call 911 except in event of life/death emergency or crime in progress (or chance of apprehending suspect). For non-emergency please use 503-823-3333.”
Gonzalez told “On Balance” host Leland Vittert that Portland’s 911 systems are swamped and something has to be done.
“Our 911 systems are overwhelmed right now. So, we’ve got to confront this crisis head-on … We need to take a strong stand in Portland,” Gonzalez said.
In 2020, Oregon voters passed by referendum Measure 110, which decriminalized most unlawful possession of a controlled substance offenses. The measure reduced penalties for drug possession from a felony or misdemeanor to a Class E violation, which is punishable with a $100 maximum fine. While jail time is down, overdose deaths in the state have skyrocketed.
Gonzalez said part of the issue with Measure 110 is that addiction services were supposed to become available, but the measure rolled out in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic when health workers were inundated.
“But that’s what voters were sold on. That we were decriminalizing addiction, that we would stand up substantial, state-level addiction services that just didn’t come about. I think that was the surprise,” Gonzalez said. “What was predictable is that Measure 110 would attract certain elements to the city that were looking for that lifestyle, and as a city, we’re taking a hard stand increasingly to push back on that now.”
When asked about residents not using drugs who expect to call 911 and get a police response, Gonzalez said they “100%” have rights, too, but some laws have hindered the ability to help.
“You know, the combination of Measure 110 and the 9th Circuit law on outdoor camping has really tied the city’s hands to address these issues. Frankly, we were probably too tolerant and accepting as a city even without those things on some of these behaviors that really destroy livability for everyone else,” Gonzalez said.
He continued: “It’s going to take multiple steps (to fix). There’s no two ways about it, and you need all levels of government working in the same direction. We’ve been pushing certain forms of judicial reform for the last decade in the state and in our county. We’re now paying the piper for that. Some well-intentioned things have had some really negative impacts.”
As the safety commissioner, Gonzalez thinks Portland needs to put the focus back on families.
“We need to recenter families and entrepreneurs and those who build organizations in our policy discussions. We focus too much sometimes on the user, on the migratory homeless in defining who we should be building government around,” Gonzalez said. “So, that’s the big reset, that we need to center those who contribute and are just looking for a good place to live.”
The flood of 911 calls due to overdoses come as Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has directed state police to launch new strategies aimed at disrupting the flow of the drugs and created a task force to revitalize the downtown Portland area.