XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, or.politics, alt.society.homeless
XPost: talk.politics.guns, sac.politics

A Portland doctor said a homeless man knocked her unconscious while
walking in the city, and then she waited more than 20 minutes without a
police response.

"I do not hold the police accountable for this at all — I hold our city accountable for defunding the police," Mary Costantino, a radiologist,
told Fox News. "We don't have enough police force to protect our citizens,
and we did this to ourselves."

The attack happened shortly after 10:30 Friday night. One minute,
Costantino was walking in Southwest Portland with a friend. The next, she
woke up on the ground, blood pouring out of her mouth. She was sure she
was about to be killed and immediately dialed 911.

"I thought we were still being sort of attacked in some way," Costantino
said. "I was like, 'I'm going to just try to verbalize a report of what's happening, so there's some record of how I died.'"

As the situation cleared, Costantino realized she was not dying. She had
been struck in the face by an aluminum water bottle hurled by a man, she
said. There had been no yelling, no sign of danger to give Costantino time
to defend herself. She credits her friend with saving her from further
harm.

"He said that the perpetrator … was still coming towards me," she said.
"And he turned around and really aggressively yelled at him and the guy
ran away."

"Had it not been for this person being with me, it would have, I think,
been a lot worse," Costantino added.

CHILLING VIDEO SHOWS PORTLAND WOMAN ATTACKED, KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS:

A spokesperson for the Portland Police Bureau confirmed the incident,
telling Fox News in an email that TriMet surveillance video "captured what appears to be the unprovoked and brutal attack." Officers were dispatched
at 10:55 p.m. — about 20 minutes after Costantino says she was struck —
and arrived at the scene eight minutes after that, according to Sheppard.

By then, Costantino had already given up and gone home.

"If we don't have police officers to come to the side of somebody who is
under attack, then we're all on our own," Costantino said.

Her situation is not unusual. Portlanders have faced increasingly long
police response times for years. The average for a high-priority call was
23.7 minutes in July, according to PPB data, the longest wait in more than
a decade.

"Our goal is always to help as much as we can, as quickly as we can. But
with our staffing being at historic lows, this has become a challenge for
us," Lt. Nathan Sheppard told Fox News in an email.

‘WE’RE ON OUR OWN': PORTLAND WOMAN SAYS HOMELESS MAN KNOCKED HER
UNCONSCIOUS:

"At the time this call came in, our officers were actively on 26 calls throughout the city," he wrote. "There were 0 free officers and another 52 calls holding."

The bureau has about 80 sworn vacancies, down from more than 100 in
September.

"Our officers joined the Police Bureau to help people, and when they are unable, it takes a toll," Sheppard wrote. "We’re continuing to hire, so
there’s definitely hope, and things WILL get better."

"I am heartbroken that my dear friend Mary was so badly hurt," said
Kristin Olson, an outspoken critic of Oregon politics who first shared Costantino’s story on her podcast, "Rational in Portland." "Portlanders
have a right and a reasonable expectation to peacefully move about this
city without fear that they will be assaulted as they walk down the
street."

Costantino said seeing the deterioration of public safety in Portland
"100%" changed her voting habits.

"I absolutely did not vote for Jo Ann Hardesty," she said, referring to a previous city commissioner who supported defunding the police in 2020. In
the governor’s election, she cast her vote for Republican Christine
Drazan.

To hear more from Costantino, click here.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/portland-woman-knocked-attacker-blames-city- slow-police-response-ourselves

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