#2,433 - Homeless man, first arrested under Portland camping ordinance, was cited and released

News For Reasonable People

For the first time since Portland City Council passed a new prohibited camping ordinance in early May, police on Friday arrested a homeless person for refusing to move or take an offer of shelter. However, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office declined to book the person in jail, KGW reported.

Willamette Week was first to report on the arrest Monday. Portland ostensibly began enforcement of the new ordinance at the beginning of July, but this arrest marked the first time that the more drastic consequences of the ordinance have come to bear.

According to a statement from the Portland Police Bureau, officers arrested a man identified as Alasdair Macdonald around 9:15 a.m. on Friday for unlawful camping near Northeast 28th Avenue and Alberta Street. Both police and city outreach workers had spoken with Macdonald "several times" prior, PPB said, and he refused to accept shelter or any other services.