Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
Kevin Dahlgren's mugshot, released from the MCSO, after being arrested on Tuesday morning.
Dahlgren is facing the charges related to his work in the City of Gresham, where he worked as a “homeless services specialist,” according to the indictment. After hearing sworn testimony from eight witnesses, the Multnomah County Grand Jury moved forward with an indictment and issued a warrant for Dahlgren’s arrest. Dahlgren was arrested the morning of Oct. 31. According to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, the investigation is ongoing and additional victims have been identified but not located.
"In March 2023, City staff discovered suspicious activity that had taken place by a City employee," said Sarah Cagann with the City of Gresham. "Staff acted quickly to place the suspected employee on administrative leave while working with a third-party organization to conduct an investigation. Shortly after being placed on administrative leave, the employee resigned."
On July 13, Sheriff Shane Nelson hired Dahlgren to do consultant work for Deschutes County. Dahlgren’s contract with the DCSO instructed him to provide population counts as well as identify resource and service needs of houseless individuals in Central Oregon. The Multnomah County indictment lists Dahlgren’s alleged offenses as having occurred between July 2020 and March 2023 – ending just months before Nelson hired Dahlgren for work in Deschutes County.
Phase One of Dahlgren's $18,000 contract with DCSO required him to complete a research, service and resource report at China Hat, one of Deschutes County’s larger encampments.
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"The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and requested assistance regarding an active open criminal investigation on Mr. Dahlgren, at which point Sheriff L. Shane Nelson terminated the contract immediately on August 23, 2023," read a statement from a DCSO press release on Tuesday.
Dahlgren is a Portland resident who offers up his “consulting” services through his website. Dahlgren, who also creates videos and writes blogs on Substack documenting houseless individuals and their stories under the name, “truthonthestreets,” has over 25,000 followers on social media platform, X. A description of himself on the platform says he works as a “disruptor of the homeless industrial complex.”
Phase One of Dahlgren's $18,000 contract with DCSO required him to complete a research, service and resource report at China Hat, one of Deschutes County’s larger encampments. According to Sgt. Jason Wall, Dahlgren’s contract with DCSO concluded as of September.
Dahlgren released a report, including an estimated Point in Time Count, as well as a list of shelters, services and information he collected during his time in Deschutes County. The seven-page report was questioned by several service providers in September, as many found it misleading.
The report, which was handed over to Deschutes County Commissioner Tony DeBone on Aug. 17, was mysterious to county leaders as well. "The sheriff and I didn't communicate about that," DeBone told the Source Weekly in September. Debone was not aware of the report before receiving it via email from Dahlgren, he told the Source Weekly.
—This story will be updated.
