911

Last year, the group Disability Rights Oregon brought a lawsuit against Washington County, alleging that when 911 is called for people in mental health crises, it’s often law enforcement officers who respond.

Jennifer Langston talks about being shot by her boyfriend in 2014, and how she lives with the trauma today.

New city policies will formalize – and expand – rules around how Portland’s mental health first responders do their job.

If you call 911, you expect someone to answer quickly and send help. But that system is strained these days by a shortage of dispatchers. The problem has grown worse during the COVID pandemic. In Washington, some State Patrol dispatch centers have a vacancy rate over 50 percent. And one office got so short-staffed it had to close.

A new report published Wednesday reveals that for more than a decade, Portland’s Bureau of Emergency Communications misstated how long it took dispatchers to answer 911 calls.

People in parts Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington can now send text messages to 911 — just don't send emojis, photos or videos.