A Portland doctor said a homeless man knocked her unconscious while walking in the city, and then she waited more than 20 minutes without a police response.
"I do not hold the police accountable for this at all — I hold our city accountable for defunding the police," Mary Costantino, a radiologist, told Fox News. "We don't have enough police force to protect our citizens, and we did this to ourselves."
The attack happened shortly after 10:30 Friday night. One minute, Costantino was walking in Southwest Portland with a friend. The next, she woke up on the ground, blood pouring out of her mouth. She was sure she was about to be killed and immediately dialed 911.
"I thought we were still being sort of attacked in some way," Costantino said. "I was like, 'I'm going to just try to verbalize a report of what's happening, so there's some record of how I died.'"
As the situation cleared, Costantino realized she was not dying. She had been struck in the face by an aluminum water bottle hurled by a man, she said. There had been no yelling, no sign of danger to give Costantino time to defend herself. She credits her friend with saving her from further harm.
"He said that the perpetrator … was still coming towards me," she said. "And he turned around and really aggressively yelled at him and the guy ran away."
"Had it not been for this person being with me, it would have, I think, been a lot worse," Costantino added.
WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE
A spokesperson for the Portland Police Bureau confirmed the incident, telling Fox News in an email that TriMet surveillance video "captured what appears to be the unprovoked and brutal attack." Officers were dispatched at 10:55 p.m. — about 20 minutes after Costantino says she was struck — and arrived at the scene eight minutes after that, according to Sheppard.
By then, Costantino had already given up and gone home.
"If we don't have police officers to come to the side of somebody who is under attack, then we're all on our own," Costantino said.
Her situation is not unusual. Portlanders have faced increasingly long police response times for years. The average for a high-priority call was 23.7 minutes in July, according to PPB data, the longest wait in more than a decade.
"Our goal is always to help as much as we can, as quickly as we can. But with our staffing being at historic lows, this has become a challenge for us," Lt. Nathan Sheppard told Fox News in an email.
"At the time this call came in, our officers were actively on 26 calls throughout the city," he wrote. "There were 0 free officers and another 52 calls holding."
The bureau has about 80 sworn vacancies, down from more than 100 in September.
"Our officers joined the Police Bureau to help people, and when they are unable, it takes a toll," Sheppard wrote. "We’re continuing to hire, so there’s definitely hope, and things WILL get better."
"I am heartbroken that my dear friend Mary was so badly hurt," said Kristin Olson, an outspoken critic of Oregon politics who first shared Costantino’s story on her podcast, "Rational in Portland." "Portlanders have a right and a reasonable expectation to peacefully move about this city without fear that they will be assaulted as they walk down the street."
To hear more from Costantino, click here.
