An unhoused Portlander who was repeatedly stabbed in Old Town Monday evening after he lost his tent in a city encampment clearing is now in a coma in critical condition at a local hospital.
The man had been living in a tent near Blanchet House, which provides free meals and other services to homeless people, until his possessions were taken following Mayor Ted Wheeler’s order to conduct a mass sweep in Old Town in early May, said Blanchet House spokesperson Julie Showers. After that, the man known to Blanchet workers only as Scotty slept on the sidewalk outside of Blanchet House without protection from the weather, Showers said.
The nonprofit’s staffers say more needs to be done to protect vulnerable individuals from violence. They wonder: Had Scotty still had a tent, would the assailant have passed him by without notice?
Wheeler touted the mass sweeps in Old Town as an unqualified success and announced earlier this month his plan to conduct similar large encampment removals elsewhere in the city.
The city refused to make available someone who would speak on the record in response to the stabbing.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said during a June press conference that Old Town saw a 51% decrease in reported drug offenses, a 93% decrease in trespassing reports and a 13% decrease in vandalism from March 22 to May 20, as compared to the prior 60-day period. He credited that decrease to the city’s sweeps.
City officials cited several murders of unhoused people in Old Town as one reason to increase the encampment removals in the neighborhood. Of the at least seven killings of homeless people this year, most have been in Old Town.
Police and local homeless experts have repeatedly said that homeless individuals are often the victim of crimes not the perpetrators.
While businesses and housed residents in Old Town said during that press conference that they felt safer following the city’s actions, some of the neighborhood’s most vulnerable individuals still feel unsafe, attribution? Some noted they are now less protected than before, because they have lost tents and their communities of unhoused neighbors that made them feel protected.
The attack on the Blanchet House client happened around 8:30 p.m. Monday.
The man was last seen by Blanchet House staff sleeping under a tree right outside the organization’s door. He was found stabbed by a resident of Blanchet House’s transitional housing program who called 911. Security video footage shows that a man ran up to Scotty and stabbed him a dozen times as he slept. No one at Blanchet House who viewed the video recognized the assailant.
Portland Police Lt. Nathan Sheppard said officers responded to the incident and immediately applied a tourniquet to the victim’s arm to stop the bleeding. A medical crew arrived shortly after and performed first aid prior to transporting Scotty to a local hospital with life-threatening wounds. Sheppard said the investigation is ongoing.
Blanchet staff do not know Scotty’s full name and Howard said police do not release names of victims. A social worker at Legacy Emanuel Hospital, where he is being cared for, told Blanchet staffers that she would ask police to fingerprint Scotty to help learn his full identity.
“When we talk about serving the most vulnerable, we’re talking about guests like Scotty,” Showers said. “He doesn’t speak or engage so we don’t know how to help other than to offer food, clothing and kindness. Scotty is a petite person who often wore women’s clothing and high heels, which made him a target of frequent bullying on the street.”
Although Scotty ate meals at Blanchet House each day, little is known about him because he is uncommunicative, Showers said. But he felt safe seeking food and clothing from the nonprofit and typically slept nearby.
“He (is) a frail older man, and he would get swept, try to set up and then get swept again,” said Jennifer Ransdell, Blanchet House volunteer coordinator. On one day following the sweeps, Scotty was sitting outside with his belongings scattered all around him because workers contracted by the city took his tent, she said.
“I brought over two tote bags for him that day for him to put his things in, and he just said ‘I need help,’” Ransdell recalled. After he lost his tent, Scotty was often spotted sleeping on the sidewalk with just a blanket.
Scotty has a stern disposition with limited communication. Blanchet House staffers rarely hear him speak but he always non-verbally expresses his gratitude for the food, water and clothing they offer him. Workers even set aside high heels and silky clothes for him, since they know that’s what he prefers. Scotty took joy in decorative hats and black high heel boots but sometimes he would be spotted without any shoes at all during severe weather, attribution?.
Scott Kerman, Blanchet House director, said Scotty did not deserve to be harmed and the action had made the staff profoundly sad and angry.
“Why did (someone) attack Scotty and not someone else in the vicinity who was standing around? Was it Scotty’s appearance? Did he seem especially vulnerable and easy to target lying on the ground? If Scotty was in a tent, would the assailant have just walked by unaware?” Kerman asked.
Kerman noted that while Scotty appeared to have undiagnosed mental health issues that likely contributed to his lack of housing, he did have community, friends and a routine at Blanchet House.
Nicole Hayden reports on homelessness for The Oregonian/OregonLive. She can be reached at nhayden@oregonian.com or on Twitter @Nicole_A_Hayden.
