Oregon police investigating beating of Black man as bias crime

Darell Preston says he was attacked by a white man “without warning” this month on the sidewalk adjacent to his food truck, LoRell’s Chicken Shack, in southeast Portland.

A Black food truck owner in Oregon has retained a lawyer to investigate an attack he endured weeks ago outside his business at the hands of a white man.

Darell Preston, 36, allegedly was attacked “without warning” on the sidewalk adjacent to his food truck, LoRell’s Chicken Shack, in southeast Portland’s Foster-Powell neighborhood on June 15, OregonLive reported.

Preston’s lawyer, Alicia LeDuc Montgomery, said her client was on the phone with his wife when the attacker started hitting him and using racial epithets.

“We are deeply disturbed by this assault, which has left the community shaken and outraged,” LeDuc Montgomery said. “We call upon law enforcement to thoroughly investigate this despicable act of violence.”

A police spokesperson, Sgt. Kevin Allen, said that after consulting with Preston’s family on June 19, detectives with the Major Crimes Unit began investigating the incident as a possible bias crime.

Allen said they didn’t launch the investigation immediately because responding officers weren’t given specific details at the scene.

In a letter sent Monday, LeDuc Montgomery informed the city of Portland and the Multnomah County district attorney that she was looking into the attack and the “timeliness and sufficiency of the government’s response.”

A police spokesperson contended on June 20 that Preston initially refused to have a lengthy conversation with officers when they arrived at the food cart area the day of the incident.

Spokeswoman Terri Wallo Strauss said it took officers a while to convince Preston to emerge from the food cart and speak with them. He reportedly told officers he was delivering food just before the attack, but he proceeded to lock himself in the cart when the police officer pressed him for more information.

LeDuc Montgomery said her client was too terrified and wounded to talk to officers, adding he “could hardly speak because his face had been so badly beaten in.”

Video of the incident recorded across the street from the food truck allegedly shows Preston, identified by his lawyer, being kicked and punched by a bald white man and before lying crumpled on the sidewalk. The footage reportedly shows Preston fighting to sit up before being knocked back down.

Police discovered Preston at his food truck, where he gave them a general description of his assailant. Authorities scoured the neighborhood but were unable to locate the perpetrator.

Allen said an officer gave Preston his business card, saying he should call if he wanted to offer more information about the assault.

Preston’s wife drove him to the hospital, where he was treated for “severe facial injuries,” according to LeDuc Montgomery’s statement.

Preston’s mouth was swollen, as were his eyes, one of which was shut and bleeding in photos taken right after the incident. The other eye was partially filled with blood.

“We are grateful for the outpouring of care from individuals and organizations,” Preston’s wife, Marshnique Preston, said in a statement provided by LeDuc Montgomery. She added that they, “appreciate community members remaining unified in their peaceful support for the pursuit of justice and Darell’s healing.”

After temporarily shutting down the food truck due to Preston’s injuries, his family started a GoFundMe effort – which has generated over $40,000 – two days later to aid with household expenses.

“Darell is a local community business owner known for his phenomenal Chicago style chicken, his big heart, and even bigger smile,” the GoFundMe page reads. “Due to this attack, he will be unable to work his cart causing an obvious financial burden on himself and our family.”

Preston’s attorney said the LoRell’s Chicken Shack food truck should reopen later this week.

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