A legally blind man from Vancouver told police he heard two young males laughing when they pried his cane from his hand Friday afternoon at a Portland light rail stop.
James Davis had just exited the train at Clackamas Town Center when he was grabbed and stripped of his cane. He was later hospitalized with shoulder injuries sustained during the incident.
The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public’s help identifying the young males that stole the 40-year-old man’s cane. Davis, through the sheriff’s office, has declined to be interviewed and said he is putting the incident behind him. His cane has been replaced.
Davis told the sheriff’s office he appreciates the public support he’s received.
“I held on as tight as I could, but one of them grabbed my hand and forced my fingers open and they were able to take it — all while they were laughing at me,” Davis told investigators, according to a news bulletin issued today by the sheriff’s office.
Davis boarded the MAX Yellow Line in north Portland, transferred to the Green Line and was exiting the train at about noon when his $40 cane was taken. He was treated at Sunnyside Kaiser Hospital and released.
The stolen cane was a gift from a friend, according to the news bulletin. Davis told police his cane was about 5 feet long, with a white carbon fiber shaft, red tape at the bottom and a white tip. The cane is collapsible.
The Clackamas County Sheriffs’ Office is working with TriMet to get surveillance images of the suspects.
Anyone with information on the theft is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 503-723-4949 or text message “CRIMES” (274637). The sheriff’s office requests “CCSO” be the first line of any text message.
E-mail tips can be sent using the sheriff’s office’s website, http://www.co.clackamas.or.us/sheriff/tip.htm.
Tips can be made anonymously.
Anyone submitting information is asked to reference Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Case 10-14684.
