A senior aide to Portland City Councilor Jamie Dunphy has been placed on administrative leave following reports that he took a disabled homeless woman into his home and later left her at a state park. The woman, who uses a wheelchair and has a documented history of mental illness, was later tasered and arrested by police after refusing to cooperate with authorities.
Council Response and Leave Decision
City spokesperson Alison Perkins confirmed that Amani Kelekele, 35, was placed on paid administrative leave effective Monday. The decision came just three days after The Oregonian/OregonLive published an investigation into the incident, revealing troubling details of Kelekele’s involvement with the woman.
Councilor Dunphy, who hired Kelekele as a senior council aide when he took office in January, declined to discuss the matter, citing city policy against commenting on personnel issues. Kelekele earns an annual salary of $131,000 and had informed Dunphy of the situation in late September.
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The Events Leading Up to the Incident
According to records reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive, Kelekele had encountered the woman living on a Milwaukie street. He later wrote in a memo that he had picked her up to help her avoid arrest and allowed her to stay temporarily at his home while he sought social service assistance.
However, when he was unable to find resources that the woman would accept, Kelekele decided to drive her and her dog out to Milo McIver State Park, approximately 21 miles southeast of Portland, on the night of September 25. He left them there with a few personal items, including blankets, a beach umbrella, and grocery bags, according to the documents.
Less than 36 hours later, state park workers reported the woman to Oregon State Police after she refused to leave the campsite. Police records indicate she became uncooperative, leading officers to use a taser to subdue and handcuff her before placing her under arrest on September 27.
During the confrontation, the woman’s pit bull, which she described as an emotional support animal, bit a state trooper and then ran into the nearby woods. The animal has not been found.
Conflicting Accounts from Authorities
While Kelekele wrote that he intervened to prevent the woman’s arrest in Milwaukie, police and outreach workers in the area disputed that claim. They told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the woman was not facing arrest and that trained advocates had already been working to connect her with mental health and housing resources.
These advocates said they had spent several days engaging with the woman and were close to securing professional help when she disappeared.
Reactions and Statements
Kelekele did not respond to new requests for comment on Monday, though he previously provided a written statement expressing regret over how the situation unfolded.
“This has caused a great deal of emotional distress,” Kelekele wrote last month. “I would like to clarify that I led with my heart in my sincere attempts to aid [the woman]. However, if I could do it over, I would do it differently.”
Councilor Dunphy, in an earlier interview, called the situation “awful and heartbreaking.”
“This is obviously the worst-case scenario of how things could have turned out,” he said. “It was done with the best of intentions and with some errors in judgment that, I think, come from a person who has an incredible lived experience that makes them want to try and be everything to everyone and be as helpful and as thorough in that help as possible.”
Dunphy also acknowledged that Kelekele had once been homeless himself, suggesting that his personal experiences may have influenced his actions.
Ongoing Questions and Fallout
The incident has raised serious concerns about the boundaries between personal compassion and professional responsibility, particularly for public employees handling complex issues like homelessness and mental illness.
Advocates and city officials have expressed concern that Kelekele’s decision, though seemingly made with good intentions, endangered both the woman and himself, while also undermining the work of trained outreach teams.
As of now, the woman’s current whereabouts remain unknown, and attempts by The Oregonian/OregonLive to contact or locate her have been unsuccessful.
City officials have not said how long Kelekele’s leave will last or whether further disciplinary action will be taken. The investigation into his conduct and the events leading up to the woman’s arrest remains ongoing.
A Case That Highlights Systemic Failures
This case underscores broader systemic failures in how Portland and surrounding areas respond to homelessness and mental health crises. It reveals the challenges even well-meaning individuals face when trying to navigate a fragmented support system.
While Kelekele’s intentions may have been rooted in empathy, the tragic outcome has sparked a conversation about the limits of individual intervention and the urgent need for coordinated, professional care for the city’s most vulnerable residents.
