Staff shortages cited as reason Portland police responded only to high-priority calls

PORTLAND, Ore. — Interstate 5 is now open following hours of closure by police throughout most of Monday.

It started around 10 a.m., when Portland police said a suspect shot someone while trying to steal their car. It was one of several carjacking attempts on the busy interstate. Officers shot and killed the suspect.

Responding to the scene took up most of Portland Police Bureau’s units, resulting in an announcement they were only going to respond to "high-risk calls" during this “critical incident.”

They announced that during “critical incidents” -- referring to the carjacking -- they were only going to respond to priority one and priority two calls.

In response, people on social media were wondering: is it a good idea to announce that? Wouldn’t this give people confidence to commit other crimes?

KATU's Frances Lin asked the Portland Police Bureau about the announcement.

This is its response:

"HI Frances, our PIOs mirror the staffing issue. We simply do not have the capacity for a zoom right now—everyone is on-scene at the OIS.

We would advise people to call non-emergency to file a report or online at portlandpolice.com if it fits our online reporting criteria. Lower priority calls involve things that are no longer occurring and there is no threat to a person—such as a theft from vehicle, etc.

BOEC is probably better able to answer some of your questions as they prioritize the call-load and are responsible for dispatch.

Sorry we can’t be more help today."

The Bureau of Emergency Communications (BOEC) said this does happen every once in a while.

"This year particular, we’ve been receiving a much higher than usual number of 911 calls," said Dan Douthit, spokesman for the Portland Bureau of Emergency Communications. "Something that we’ve been challenged by, because we want to answer calls as quickly as possible. But we’re seeing just this huge influx of calls and we’re not able to answer them all as quickly as we want to.”

On social media, some people were wondering why officers were standing around at the scene, instead of going back on patrol.

KATU's Frances Lin questioned police about this.

This is what they responded:

"Hi Frances, I’m not at the scene, so I can’t comment on exactly what occurred today. I can speak in generalities, though, why officers may still be at an OIS scene. First, there may be witness officers and there is a whole procedure that has to be done at the scene regarding processing them before they are released. A lot of times people see a uniform and automatically think it’s an officer. It could be a sergeant, lieutenant or even higher who has a role at the scene. It could also be a criminalist who is processing all the evidence.

We also keep officers on the perimeter of major crime scenes. Obviously, closing down a freeway is highly complex. They are there to help the Medical Examiner get in, tow trucks, release witnesses (who may still be in their vehicles), keep others from entering the perimeter (which can contaminate evidence). Once the freeway opens, they will help coordinate that as well. A major scene like this has an Incident Commander on the scene is always aware of resources and coordinate who needs to stay and who can be released. We always try to use our limited resources effectively. I hope this is helpful."

And when KATU's Frances Lin asked about the announcement that officers wouldn't be available to respond to certain calls, police did not respond to that question.

But the Bureau of Emergency Communications did.

"Do you think it was a good idea to announce that they’re only taking one and two calls right now?” asked Frances.

"This past week, we received over 37% more calls during the week than we did the previous year at the same time. So by letting the community know that resources are limited and to only call at the most urgent circumstances, it helps people realize that they do call, they might be waiting," Douthit responded.

Click hereto read more about Portland Police Bureau's call priority levels.

Click hereto read a general list of Priority 1 to Priority 9 calls, a list from the Eugene Police Department.