Neighbors: Man with a machete threatening people at Couch Park in NW Portland
By Soyoung Kim
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PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — Parents are concerned after they say a man with a machete is threatening people at a local park. They say they’ve reported it to authorities but feel not much has been done about it and don’t know who else to turn to for help.
Couch Park near Northwest 19th Avenue and Northwest Glisan Street has a playground that parents say they try to enjoy as much as possible.
“It’s one of the core parks for our family,” a parent who lives nearby said.
But on some days they just don’t feel safe enough to let their kids play there.
“There’s everything from open-air drug use, open-air drug dealing, fights,” another parent who lives nearby said.
One parent FOX 12 spoke with says they felt threatened by a man waving a machete Monday morning.
“He’s walking towards us, towards the fence, and he has the machete in his hand, and he just says, ‘get out of my park’ and just kind of waves it,” a parent said.
She says she called police.
“They drove by twice, they did not get out. I don’t know if that’s protocol. An officer did follow-up with me and asked for the photo,” a parent said.
Other neighbors also say they’ve seen or heard similar stories about a man with a similar weapon in the area.
“The day before, I was walking by the bus stop, walking home with my groceries, and he passed me holding a machete,” a nearby resident said.
“On Friday, parents of kids who go to this school right here saw a man with numerous kinds of swords,” Kerry Duff, who lives nearby, said.
People say some city departments have been helpful, but the issues aren’t being properly addressed.
“Parks did follow up with me. They’re always super responsive. There’s not a lot they can do about an armed person except call 911 themselves,” another person said.
Neighbors say they’re frustrated they are not able to feel safe at their local park.
“All of this area is supposed to have no camping, no drug use, no illegal activity,” Duff said. “I want our parks back and want our schools safe.”
Neighbors say they’re taking a stand to protect people at the park and are encouraging others to come by this Friday at 10 a.m. at the east end of Couch Park to show support.
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