As reported by KEZI, the Grocery Outlet located on NE Sandy Blvd in Portland’s Parkrose neighborhood is now on the verge of shutting down, possibly as early as the end of this month. Crime in Tina Kotek’s Oregon has become so extreme that even basic grocery stores cannot operate safely anymore. Owner Don McKeever says the situation has deteriorated to the point where shoplifting, vandalism, and violence are happening constantly, and both he and his employees are being assaulted simply for trying to run a store in a city that refuses to protect them.
McKeever says he has been stabbed multiple times in the hand by a thief trying to steal pastries and has even had a gun pulled on him over a 7.99 bottle of wine. His employees have also been assaulted while simply trying to do their jobs, including being shoved, threatened, and attacked by people who know there will be no consequences. He has watched his front windows smashed out, seen shopping carts stolen almost daily, and lost thousands of dollars in merchandise each month. He estimates losing up to ten carts every week at 350 dollars each and another ten thousand dollars monthly in stolen goods. That is in addition to tens of thousands in damage to the building.
While city officials and Tina Kotek’s administration continue pointing to crime statistics that claim things are trending downward, people who live in Portland know that is not reality. Most residents no longer bother calling the police because nothing happens. The data is meaningless when the public has simply given up on reporting crime. In Parkrose, where this store is located, crime has actually risen fifteen percent in the last year.
Grocery Outlet is far from the first business pushed out of Portland by the lawlessness that Kotek refuses to address. It is only the latest. Many more businesses have closed or fled because the city is no longer safe. Employees at this store are quitting because they do not feel safe showing up to work. They have had to escort violent individuals out of the building, and some employees have resigned because they fear being attacked on the job…