Multnomah County officials have released more than half an hour of security footage of a recent stabbing near its central library branch two weeks ago.

County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said she aimed to “address the narrative discrepancy” about the Aug. 25 incident, which led police to arrest three people. Investigators said a 44-year-old victim had “observed a disturbance” and tried to intervene, only to suffer stab wounds from a box cutter and hits from skateboards.

“We are releasing the video in the name of transparency,” Vega Pederson said in a statement. She noted, however, that the release isn’t meant to show anyone’s innocence or guilt.

“I remain committed to improving security in and around the Central Library by working closely with Portland Police and downtown businesses to improve safety,” she said in a statement.

The release follows a public back-and-forth between two of Multnomah County’s top officials. Vega Pederson on Monday called on Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez to release the footage. Vasquez declined hours later and said he preferred the criminal justice process unfold without outside distraction.

Also on Monday, a grand jury indicted the trio. They face multiple criminal charges, including second-degree assault, meaning and unlawful use of a weapon. Vasquez noted that the grand jury had seen “all video footage” prior to indicting them.

“My office will continue to vigorously prosecute violent crimes occurring in the immediate vicinity of the Multnomah County Library,” he said in a statement. “I welcome any collaboration from the library to ensure that the whole community feels welcome and safe in availing itself of its services.”

The stabbing was the second violent attack near the central library in a matter of weeks. Early July saw a fatal shooting, which led the library to close temporarily and for the county to announce new security measures.

The incident has reanimated debates about safety in downtown Portland, with some using it as an opportunity to castigate Vega Pederson and other elected county leaders.

“How many more people must be hurt or killed until the county takes decisive action?” Portland Metro Chamber CEO Andrew Hoan said after the incident.

New, sparse details from footage

The principal claim by Vega Pederson, as well as fellow commissioner Shannon Singleton, had been that what exactly set off the events that led to the stabbing was mischaracterized.

Singleton, in a social media post days after the incident, went so far as to say the early accounts bordered on “racism and fear-mongering.” Singleton said, “It is critical that we are accurate in the stories we tell and the language we use about Black youth.”

The footage shows four young people sitting on the library’s outdoor benches. They arrived, sat down and talked to one another for about 10 minutes without issue. The incident occurred around 5 p.m., according to the police bureau.

OPB wasn’t able to immediately identify all parties in the video. The three indicted Monday are Anthony M. Nicholas, 18; Ja’Riyah L. Williams, 21; and Daviana E. Anderson, 18.

As the four people sat, a man exited the central library, spent a few minutes reconfiguring the items he was carrying, and then crossed the street to wait at a transit stop at the corner of Southwest Yamhill and 10th Avenue — directly across from the four people. The man was with his partner, court records said.

It’s not entirely clear from the footage what sparked the confrontation. In a probable cause affidavit filed shortly after the stabbing, investigators wrote that the 44-year-old man was attempting to stop a “disturbance.”

The footage does not include any audio, but the four appear to be talking amongst themselves when something across the street draws their attention. Then, suddenly, Nicholas and the man began to yell at each other across the street.

What followed was several minutes of arguing. The man crossed the street at one point to confront Nicholas. Meanwhile, his friends and library security personnel tried to separate them.

The situation calmed briefly, the footage showed. The man returned across the street and the younger crowd began to prepare to leave. But something once again agitated the younger group and they marched across the street, toward the transit stop, to confront the man.

The stabbing is not shown in the footage. According to police, the attack happened near a transit stop. Police said they then ran away and were later arrested near the light rail stop at Holladay Park in Northeast Portland.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/08/multnomah-county-library-stabbing-da-crime-vega-pederson/