Black man suffered ‘serious’ injuries after a white Portland man called him the N-word and then ordered a pit bull to attack him. Now he plans to leave the city for good

A black security guard said it was time to leave Portland, Oregon, after repeatedly facing racist violence since moving to the city last year, with the latest incident leaving him with serious injuries to his chest and hand.

Marcus Evans was the victim of a pit bull attack that he said was ordered by his white owner on Mother’s Day.

Zachary Hay, 29, pleaded not guilty to assault and bias charges after Evans said he called him the N-word before setting his dog on him on Mother’s Day.

“I live day by day,” Evans said in an interview with KTLC10. “I’ve lived all over the United States, and I’ve never encountered racism as much as I have in Portland.” He added, “Here, it seems to be quite acceptable behavior for a lot of people.”

Hays was arraigned on Tuesday, May 21 — a day after he was arrested for letting his dog attack three people, The Oregonian reported. The victims included Evans, white man Troy Cooper and a still-unidentified teenager who Evans and Cooper said ran outside to help.

According to a Portland Police Bureau press release, Evans suffered “severe injuries to his chest and hand” and Cooper was also injured in the attack. The men told police they saw Hays ordering his dog to attack a white teenager from their respective windows on Sunday, May 12, and then ran outside to help.

When Hays saw Evans, he reportedly said he recognized him from his job as a security guard at a local grocery store and called him the racist slur before ordering his dog to attack him. When Cooper tried to intervene, the dog reportedly bit him in the groin area.

Hays fled the scene, but the two victims saw him in downtown Portland on Monday, May 20, and called authorities. He was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree assault, a first-degree felony with intent to commit a crime, and three counts of keeping a dangerous dog.

Hays denied any wrongdoing and instead told police that Evans and Cooper were “aggressive” toward him, causing his pit bull to attack them.

However, Cooper confirmed Evans’ story. Police believe the teenager they rushed to help also suffered serious injuries but has not yet come forward.

According to Evans, this is not the first time he has faced racist violence in the city where he has lived for just a year. Since November 2023, he has reported several assault and discrimination offenses, including two incidents involving a white woman named Janee Jewell Plummer.

According to news reports, Plummer, 44, attacked Evans in two different parking lots at Safeway, where he works, in November and December 2023. Plummer is accused of spitting on Evans, punching him in the face and calling him a “dirty N-word.”

Although she was charged with harassment and discrimination, a judge ruled she was incompetent to stand trial and the charges were stayed. Still, Evans said he was grateful to investigators from Portland’s Discrimination Division.

“I’m grateful to the men and women here who work in the hate crimes unit. I’m grateful for the work they do. I will say that some kind of justice is being sought here,” Evans told KTLV.

However, this is not enough to convince him to stay in Portland.

“I try not to think about things, but some things are harder to deal with than others,” he said. “The only way to deal with it is to react to it, and my reaction is to just move on and take a step back from the city.”

Detective Matthew Brown is the officer assigned to the most recent case involving Hays. Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact him at (email protected) quoting case number 24-116932.