Portland police are scrambling to respond to 15 homicides in the city so far in July.
That’s the most killings in one month in more than three decades, they said.
So far this year, 24 people have died in homicides in Portland.
There have been a total of 63 shootings so far this month compared to 28 in July 2019, according to the Police Bureau.
Police Chief Chuck Lovell on Thursday said he’s very concerned about the heightened violence and is pulling officers from patrol to the detective division to help work on follow-up investigations.
He noted that the bureau was forced to cut its Gun Violence Reduction Team at the direction of the City Council.
The 34-member team was disbanded July 1 as a result of budget cuts to police units that have targeted a disproportionate number of black people in traffic stops. »