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Violence erupted in Dawson Park again last Friday afternoon, after a shooter opened fire in the picturesque Eliot neighborhood park that’s long been a gathering place for the city’s Black community. The shooter fired at least 70 times. Two people were hospitalized.
WW wrote nearly two years ago about city officials’ efforts, or lack thereof, to address problems at the park following a string of three murders. They must address interests that often don’t align: advocates who say the city overpolices Black neighborhoods and residents who say the area is unsafe.
Now, the park is back in the headlines again.
Related: Crime Is Encroaching on a Landmark of Portland’s Black Community. Why Won’t City Hall Act?
On Saturday, parents of four children attending Arc-En-Ciel preschool across the street from the park pressured city officials to act. (The parents say they witnessed Friday’s shooting while picking up their kids from school.) The letter was sent to officials and media outlets on Saturday by Valerie Burns, who tells WW shots were fired from the getaway vehicle as it passed the school. It demands more policing, “traffic calming measures” and more funding for community programs. It is signed by eight parents.
“As residents of Portland, we have witnessed Dawson Park resurgence and decay during COVID as well as a continued state of negligence. While there have been some improvements over the last year or so, the park continues to be a public safety risk,” they write.
“The fact that a beautifully remodeled city park can’t safely be used by our school across the street is a disappointment; the fact that we as parents must be mindful of the potential for dangerous activity at any time we are at our children’s school is beyond reproach. The city’s total abandonment of Dawson Park and the surrounding blocks is a tragedy for the entire community, not just our children.”
In a press conference the day after this story ran, Mayor Ted Wheeler said city efforts to improve safety at the park were bearing fruit.
“While it may ring hollow right now, it’s important to note that the city’s gun violence is showing significant improvement year over year,” Mayor Wheeler says. “The various policies and programs that we put into place, the funding that we’ve allocated towards reducing gun violence– it’s paying off.”
This story has been updated with comment from the Mayor’s office.