PORTLAND, Oregon — Residents in Southeast Portland are upset over a report that a young girl was pricked by a used syringe while playing at Laurelhurst Park.
Someone described the alleged incident on the app Nextdoor, which allows users to post messages that people in their neighborhood can see. The post said a young girl was kicking a ball with her grandpa in the soccer field at the park when she "accidentally picked up a used syringe" and started bleeding on Saturday, Oct. 16.
The person who wrote the post said her son was told about the incident by a woman who "hysterically came up to him and asked for his phone."
There was apparently no police report or 911 call, and KGW has not been able to independently verify that the incident happened.
But people like TJ Browning, safety chair of the local neighborhood association, are convinced that it did. She said she blames the homeless campers who have returned to the edge of the sprawling, 26-acre park off Southeast Stark Street and Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
“What good does it do to be gorgeous if you’re not safe here?” Browning said. "I’m extremely angry and extremely frustrated."
In late July, the city cleared a homeless encampment along the edge of the park annex, where about 70 people were living.
There is now flexible plastic fencing where the camp used to sit, but some campers have returned anyway. There were at least six tents as of Tuesday.
KGW reached out about the issue to City Commissioner Dan Ryan, the city's head of homeless services. A spokesperson said he didn't have time for an interview this week.
Browning said she sent an email expressing her frustration to city leaders but has not heard back from them.
“I understand the focus on addressing affordable housing and getting people off the streets, but could you kindly pay some attention to the rest of us who are also suffering the side effects of this," she said. "There’s a crisis here and they just don’t seem to be understanding that it is."
Have a story idea or comment for reporter Pat Dooris? Email him at pdooris@kgw.com