An incident that took place in Josephine County, Oregon last August – but only just surfaced in the news late last week – has shed light on just how dangerous local budget cuts can be. With her ex-boyfriend attempting to break into her home, an unidentified victim called 911 and was told by the operator: “I don’t have anybody to send out there… can you ask him to go away? Do you know if he’s intoxicated or anything?” The attacker did eventually make his way into the residence. He then choked and raped the woman before fleeing and being arrested hours later for kidnapping and sexual abuse, among other charges. The Sheriff’s Department has blamed the lack of a response to a lack of public funding, as 80 percent of local deputies lost their jobs last year after cuts went into effect. “There isn’t a day goes by that we don’t have another victim,” said Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilbertson, explaining that the current force can only handle so many emergencies at a time. So what are residents to do? Gilbertson said in a press release after the budget cuts were made that victims of domestic violence should “consider relocating to an area with adequate police services.”
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Woman in Oregon Raped, Advised by 911 Operator to "Ask" Attacker to Leave
