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'It was terrifying': Portland homeless man smashes car window with rock in shocking footage

Kevin Dahlgren revealed that the homeless man threw an apple at his car, ran towards it, punched the window and tried to open the car's door

PORTLAND, OREGON: A drug counselor in Portland recounted the frightening experience when a homeless man went on a rampage, charging at his car and smashing the windows with a rock. Kevin Dahlgren is one of the many victims affected by the increasing homeless crisis in Oregon's largest city and has criticized the metro for not doing enough to protect its citizens.

The incident occurred a few days after Portland officials, who had previously reduced the funding for their police force, announced the formation of new task forces to tackle the city's rampant cases of retail and motor thefts. This move was seen as a desperate attempt to curb the rising crime rates in the area.

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'He ran at me full speed'

"I thought he was going to make it inside my car," Dahlgren told Fox News. "It was terrifying. He ran at me full speed, nearly smashed my driver’s side window, and that’s why I just kept driving."

Dahlgren was recording a video at the time of the attack, which he later shared on Twitter, writing, "While doing outreach I overheard a lady saying a man a block away was 'acting crazy' and throwing things at cars. I drove over and saw him. He immediately threw an apple at my car, ran towards me, punched my window and then tried to open my door."

He continued, "I sped off as he continued to chase me. I then observed him break the window of a restaurant. I called the Multnomah county crisis line and requested mental health professionals. They asked me if he was being dangerous after I described what he has done. The man then walked off and I followed him. A few away he began throwing rocks at cars. I called the crisis line back and let him know his new location and behavior. While doing that a rock he through hit my windshield, smashing it."

"I stayed further back and watched him board a bus. I called back and let the crisis line know what bus and what direction. I was told they would not pursue a moving vehicle and asked me to stop following it. I called the police and was also told they would not pursue a moving vehicle. The bus drove away and he is now somewhere else God knows doing what. I’ll be fine but I saw a lot of rattled people and a lot of property damage. Oregon has the worse prevalence of Mental Illness in the U.S. and is ranked 43rd with their needs being unmet. Policymakers have underinvested in mental health care in Oregon for decades and now we don’t have enough beds or support. We don’t have a homeless crisis, we have an addiction and Mental Health crisis," he concluded. 

Portland suffers from rampant property theft and high crime rate

The assault took place shortly after reports emerged that Portland officials were planning to establish multiple task forces to address the city's escalating crime problem. The new task forces, aimed at addressing car and retail theft, are being developed by Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, both of whom have received criticism for their handling of the city's crime crisis. Portland currently has one of the highest crime rates in the country, with official police data indicating over 63,000 instances of property theft within the last year.