Daniel Vasey Arrested in 7-Year-Old Kidnapping Attempt as Portland Police Response Took 30-40 Minutes
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 15
Daniel Vasey Arrested in 7-Year-Old Kidnapping Attempt as Portland Police Response Took 30-40 Minutes
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 15
Summary
31-year-old Daniel Vasey was arrested after police said he tried to pull a 7-year-old tourist away from her mother at Portland's Tom McCall Waterfront Park, lifting the child off the ground before bystanders stopped him.
30 to 40 minutes passed before officers reached the scene Saturday because patrol units were tied up with a barricaded suspect in Old Town and no immediately available officers remained, police said.
41 patrol officers and 10 overtime officers were covering Portland that night—about 24% below planned staffing—while the bureau says only about 59 patrol officers are typically on city streets at any given time.
New bureau data says Portland dispatched officers to about 221,000 calls in 2025, with high-priority calls averaging 19.5 minutes from dispatch to arrival and delays driven mainly by waiting for an available officer.
68 sworn vacancies have left Portland with about 1.26 officers per 1,000 residents versus a cited national average of 2.4, underscoring officials' argument that staffing shortages are straining emergency response.