Portland police encountered significant delays in responding to an alleged attempted kidnapping at Tom McCall Waterfront Park over the weekend due to a severe staffing shortage, according to city officials. The bureau reported that officers were not available for an estimated 30 to 40 minutes after the initial 911 calls.
During the incident, which occurred shortly before 7 p.m. on a Saturday, police received multiple calls reporting a naked man running through the park. One caller indicated the suspect had attempted to assault someone. Approximately 12 minutes after the first reports, a caller stated the suspect had grabbed a 7-year-old girl and was trying to pull her away from her mother.
Portland police have stated that no officers were immediately available to respond to the park because they were engaged in handling a barricaded suspect in the city's Old Town neighborhood. The bureau's Deputy Chief Brian Hughes explained that major incidents can quickly deplete available patrol resources, leaving fewer officers to address other calls.
"We don't have the appropriate amount of police officers to handle the amount of demand for police services," Hughes told reporters. "They're resource intensive. And so when you have a draw like that, it really puts a drain on the entire city, not just that precinct."
On the night of the incident, the bureau reported having only 41 patrol officers working across the city, augmented by 10 officers working overtime. This represented a nearly 24% reduction from planned staffing levels. Officials noted there are no reserve patrol officers who can be immediately deployed when multiple significant incidents occur simultaneously.
"Unless it's an on-call group of officers like the SWAT team or the traffic team, there's no additional officers that I can just bring in at a moment's notice," Hughes added.
Daniel Vasey, 31, was arrested and faces charges including attempted kidnapping in the first and second degree, first-degree custodial interference, third-degree assault, and harassment. Police stated that Vasey grabbed the child's arm while her mother held onto the other, lifting the girl off the ground. The child's father and several bystanders intervened, detaining Vasey until police arrived. The girl sustained no serious injuries. Vasey was apprehended after being found swimming in the nearby Willamette River.
According to the Portland Police Bureau's staffing dashboard, the city has 809 sworn members, with 572 officers. Of these, 328 patrol officers are assigned to respond to 911 calls across the city's three precincts. However, due to varying schedules, court appearances, leave, training, and ongoing calls, the bureau estimates that approximately 59 patrol officers are typically on duty in Portland at any given time.
In 2025, the bureau responded to about 221,000 calls for service, averaging 605 calls per day. Officials have indicated that response time delays are primarily caused by the wait for an available officer rather than travel time. High-priority calls, on average, take 19.5 minutes from dispatch to arrival, with about 10.9 minutes spent waiting for an officer. Medium-priority calls average 46.7 minutes, and low-priority calls average nearly 95 minutes.
Hughes stated that officers are often compelled to triage calls due to insufficient patrol units for immediate response. The staffing dashboard also reveals 68 sworn vacancies within the bureau. Portland has an estimated 1.26 sworn officers per 1,000 residents, which is significantly lower than the national average of approximately 2.4 officers per 1,000 residents.