A Portland woman blames the city's "defund the police" efforts for the brutal attack that she suffered last month at the hands of a homeless man.
Mary Costantino, a doctor, on the night of July 28 waited over 20 minutes for a police response after the homeless man hit her with an aluminum water bottle, leaving her unconscious and bleeding on the sidewalk. The attack happened while she was walking in a "nice neighborhood" with a friend, she told Fox News.
Portlanders "don't have enough police force" to keep citizens safe, Costantino said, adding that "we did this to ourselves."
A police spokesperson told Fox that a surveillance camera "captured what appears to be the unprovoked and brutal attack."
Portland has cut police personnel and resources, leading to serious problems with crime and homelessness. Mayor Ted Wheeler (D.) has proposed spending nearly twice as much money on funding the city's burgeoning marijuana industry as he has requested for new police officers. In June, the city council weakened its ordinance that banned camping on public property.
Crime and homelessness have led residents to leave the city at an alarming rate, often citing a lack of safety.
Costantino told Fox News that she credits her friend, a 6'7" man, for saving her. "The guy who attacked me was still coming towards me, or us," she said. "Had it not been for this person being with me, it would've, I think, been a lot worse."