Portland Official Who Called 911 After Lyft Driver Canceled Ride Says She Feared ‘White Supremacists’

On Thursday, Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who has called for defunding the police and derided those who called 911 unnecessarily but was then found to have called 911 when a Lyft driver ended her ride, defended her 911 call, saying it was “another example of being black in America” and blaming “white supremacists” for her fear and subsequent 911 call.

Speaking at a virtual city council meeting on Thursday that was discussing the adoption of the 2020 fall budget monitoring process, Hardesty stated, “I want to end with this: recently you’ve read articles about me and a Lyft driver. Another example of being black in America and being put in a position where I have to be the one to look out for my personal safety; didn’t expect the Lyft driver to do it, certainly didn’t expect the police to do it. It was my responsibility to make sure I got home safe, and I did everything I could to get home safe.”