Earlier this month, a road rage incident between two drivers was recorded by another motorist at the intersection of Cully & Killingsworth in NE Portland. In the video, a man wearing dark jeans, a dark shirt and a baseball cap, can be seen in the middle of the road raising what appears to be a Samurai Katana sword in the air, as if preparing to swing it at another motorist who had exited his vehicle.
The other motorist, dressed in a plaid shirt and blue jeans, remained surprisingly calm in the face of the threats. After multiple threats were made and words exchanged, the sword wielding man returned to his vehicle. At that point, the other man can be seen quickly retrieving a rifle from the trunk of his car. The video cuts off at that point.
The city of Portland has seen unprecedented spikes in violent crimes since the city council voted to de-fund $15 million from the police budget in the wake of the George Floyd protests. The de-funding plan by the city specifically eliminated the Gun Violence Reduction Team (GVRT), whose purpose is self explanatory.
Since de-funding the police, Portland has spiraled down a dark and violent path. Gun violence has soared, and there are now more murders in Portland than there are in much larger cities, like San Francisco, Seattle, and San Diego. Out of all major US cities, Portland’s murder rate is the fastest growing in the entire country.
As Portland’s violent crimes continue to rise, Governor Kate Brown announced that she would be commuting the sentences of violent criminals, including murderers, rapists, and child molesters.
