Portland City Commissioner and mayoral candidate Rene Gonzalez recently announced that public transportation will be temporarily suspended. after he claimed He claimed that a woman “talked to him” on the MAX train, including making “intentional and unwanted physical contact” with him.
According to video obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive, the woman may have simply stroked Gonzalez’s arm as he moved to the front of the nearly empty vehicle, where the commissioner said Gonzalez was asked about the city’s homeless policy. It is said that he began criticizing Gonzalez about the incident.
Footage of the Jan. 26 crash, captured on two TriMet cameras, also does not appear to support Gonzalez’s claim that the woman purposely “hit” him twice, and that Gonzalez did not take part in the incident. He made this claim to the police on the same day, and later on the news. It will be released one week later on February 2nd.
His complaint to the media came three weeks after a relative’s car was set on fire in the middle of the night in front of his home, law enforcement records confirm.
However, some uncertainty remains as to what exactly happened in MAX, as some of the 90-second interaction occurred outside of the field of view of both cameras. Neither video includes audio.
The person sitting across the aisle from Gonzalez appears to glance in the direction of the chief and the woman once or twice during the episode, but otherwise looks out the window, according to the video. It seems so.
The Portland Police Bureau concluded its investigation into the incident last week, but authorities said it included reviewing Gonzalez’s descriptions to police about his experience commuting to City Hall and the TriMet footage. .
“After reviewing the available evidence, (police) determined there was no probable cause to arrest him for a crime,” said department spokesman Sergeant John Rodger. Kevin Allen told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday.
In a statement released by his campaign on Sunday, Gonzalez did not say what the TriMet footage showed or how he had previously characterized the encounter in his own video. Published on social media platform X February 2.
Instead, the first-term city commissioner and mayoral candidate said he and other Portland elected officials have faced persistent and sometimes escalating harassment in recent years.
“This is part of a larger pattern in our city, a pattern that is significantly increasing,” Gonzalez said, noting that Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Dan Ryan have also been targeted. .
“Political threats against moderate elected officials are becoming increasingly commonplace. This should not be normal, and we should not remain silent while this situation continues.” Gonzalez said.
Mr. Gonzalez’s campaign also provided a timeline of more than a dozen cases faced by Mr. Gonzalez, his staff, family, and supporters since July 2022. That included twice when Gonzalez’s campaign office was vandalized, once when he was a candidate for city council, and once while he was a candidate for city council. last month when a person or group set a relative’s car on fire outside Gonzalez’s home in Eastmoreland.
The timeline also shows that on the same day that Mr. Gonzalez released his statement regarding the alleged Trimet case, a woman confronted Mr. Gonzalez in Pioneer Courthouse Square for an alleged arson on the grounds of a future homeless mass shelter. claims.
“Personally, these attempts at intimidation have failed,” Gonzalez said. “However, many changes have been necessary in the lives of my family and staff. We have implemented safety measures to protect our loved ones, protect those who support us, and avoid unnecessary conflict. We needed to step up and completely re-evaluate how we interact with the public.”
Before the alleged encounter at MAX, Gonzalez regularly cycled and took public transportation to get from his neighborhood in Southeast Portland to City Hall. He has at times emphasized commuting options, as safety concerns and open drug use at bus, train and transit stops continue to discourage TriMet use.
“A real man drinks @trimet, especially on a day like this…even if he rides his bike to the station.” Gonzalez wrote about X in Septembera day after the transit agency released a study that found traces of fentanyl and meth on nearly every train.
Social media posts included a photo of Gonzalez grinning as he rode the MAX with his bike in the back.
— Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632
Email skavanaugh@oregonian.com
Follow us on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh
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