Portland Pol Who Wants to Defund Police Because Most 911 Calls Are Not Real Crimes, Calls 911 Because Lyft Driver Wouldn’t Close His Window

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Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty is pushing to defund the police in her city because she claims most calls are not real crimes.

But she recently called 911 herself because her Lyft driver refused to close his window.

“I paid for a ride. He says he canceled it,” Hardesty told the dispatcher, who apparently told her it was the driver’s right to do that. “So I’m going to sit here until he sends me another ride,” she said. The dispatcher then patiently tells her that as the customer, only she could order another ride.

Hardest repeatedly demands officers be sent to the location where the Lyft driver had pulled over, even though the dispatcher insisted no crime had been committed.

She eventually got out of her Lyft vehicle and into another one when another driver arrived..

Hardesty told the Portland Tribune she “proactively” called police because as a black woman she was afraid of having the police called on her. “I don’t call 911 lightly, but I certainly am not going to do anything that would put my personal safety at risk,” she said. “It’s a lot harder when you are black or brown in America to make that decision.”

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