(ConservativeHub.com) – Portland, Oregon, has seen more than its share of bad times since George Floyd’s death in police custody in May 2020. The city has faced well over a year of protests and riots. Amid that chaos, city officials saw fit to cut funds to its police department, which seems to have contributed to a new wave of issues.
Willamette Week, a local alternative newspaper and website, reported on August 11 that due to a shortage of police, several late-night businesses have contracted the services of private security companies like Ravencrest Force Protection Group, LLC.
Armed private security fills police void in downtown Portland where riots, shootouts occurred https://t.co/iay66UD5i1
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 12, 2021
Billed as a “private military contractor,” Ravencrest provides various security services like uniformed security, mobile patrols, video drone surveillance, and more. Nowadays, its heavily armed guards can be found patrolling the streets of Old Town Chinatown, Portland’s nightlife district.
After unchecked political violence in downtown Portland this weekend, this story hits hard
from @tessriski & @AaronMesh with photos by @PDocumentarians https://t.co/AQpwVb0ejp
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) August 11, 2021
Willamette Week spoke with Ravencrest worker Jean-Pierre LaFont at his post outside a Northwest Couch Street bar earlier this week. As shown in the photograph above, he is a striking figure with his fluorescent yellow highlighted AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, facemask, and black gloves outlined with white bones.
A 45-year-old former Navy SEAL, LaFont says he likes his job, stating, “I [would] rather die with my boots on” than in a nursing home listening to Boy Scouts singing Christmas carols.
Perhaps it’s a sign of the times, or maybe Portland officials can learn to turn a deaf ear to Leftist calls to defund the police and get back on track sometime soon. One can hope, right?
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