Shootings and murders significantly increased in Portland starting in May 2020 and have continued plaguing the city since. The death of George Floyd in police custody that month in Minneapolis triggered nationwide protests and riots, with Portland seeing escalating violence that eventually culminated in nightly clashes between federal officers and insurgents. Shootings rose 173 percent after the riots while murders spiked 255 percent in the months following the unrest, according to Portland police data analyzed by the Maryland Public Policy Institute. Sean Kennedy, a visiting fellow at the institute, told The Epoch Times that he sees a clear connection between the spike in violence and the demoralization, disempowerment, and defunding of police following Floyd’s death. “When the police stand down, criminals step up is the simplest way to put it,” Kennedy said. Fifty-one excess homicides took place between June and February, according to his analysis. According to the Portland Police Bureau’s …