'Gun Violence Epidemic' Spurs County 'All Hands On Deck' Response

PORTLAND, OR - The Multnomah County District Attorney has prosecuted more than five times as many gun crimes through mid August as they had through the same period in 2019. Of the 65 homicides in Portland, the majority have been committed with a gun.

In barely 15 hours on Tuesday, Portland police responded to seven separate shooting incidents. Three people were injured in those shootings.

District Mike Schmidt and other local government and law enforcement officials gathered Thursday to unveil what they're calling an "all hands" approach.

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County Chair Deborah Kafoury said that gun violence turned an already deadly pandemic into an even more deadly problem.

"We are here today to demonstrate how Multnomah County is responding to that challenge, and moving forward urgently, holistically and in close coordination," she said.

A key pillar of the plan is Schmidt adding prosecutors to his office in an attempt to speed up how fast cases move through the system. He's working with Kafoury to get an additional $1 million in funding so that the office can hire four more deputy district attorneys and two new investigators.

"Amidst a gun violence epidemic and debilitating backlog in the courts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which remains an imminent threat to our community, new ground must be broken through strategic investments," Schmidt said.

"County leaders are rising to this challenge with a collaborative, modernized, evidence-based approach."

Meanwhile, the Multnomah County Sheriff, Mike Reese, is working to build better relationships between his office and other agencies including the Gresham and Portland police departments as well as the FBI.