TROY – Vandals sprayed an area outside of the Troy Municipal Building in the 100 block of East Market Street in Troy with anti-police graffiti overnight Thursday to Friday.
The graffiti included the “F” word, “Pigs” and “A.C.A.B.” The action occurred between 11:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. Friday, Troy Police said. Surveillance video also appeared to capture a person in the area at that time. Troy Police are attempting to identify the suspect in the graffiti case.
“It is disheartening,” Troy Police Chief Brad Parsons said. “I don’t think it is a fair assessment of our community or how citizens feel about the Troy Police Department at all. The Troy Police Department is a big part of our community. I think this was one local resident who was unhappy with us.”
Chief Parsons said Troy Police is combing through video surveillance and photos from the incident, however so far the resolution has made it hard to identify the person in the video.
“We are still getting pictures off the camera and hoping for better resolution,” the chief added.
The painters covered the Troy Municipal Building graffiti with white paint by early Friday afternoon.
The anti-police graffiti demonstration could be a reaction to the fatal choking of suspect George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. The officer choked Floyd to death with his knees and body weight after an apprehension.
The Minneapolis suspect Floyd kept saying in a widely circulated video: “Please, please, I can’t breathe.” Another closely addressed the officers and said, “He is human, too.” Five minutes after having the officer’s knees on his neck, Floyd was motionless. EMTs were called and finally arrived and the officer kept his knee on Floyd’s neck. A woman also responded off-camera: “They just killed that man.” Floyd’s death was compounded by the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor by three white police officers in March in Louisville, Ky., that drew nationwide attention.
Protesters in St. Louis held demonstrations outside the St. Louis and Ferguson Police departments on Thursday night. There were an estimated 80 protesters in St. Louis and 50 protesters in Ferguson, Mo.
The National Guard has been called to respond to Minneapolis, Minn., because of the unrest.
Parsons said the suspect or suspects will likely brag or talk about their actions to someone. He urges anyone with information about the suspect or suspects to contact the Troy Police at (618) 667-6731. He also encourages anyone with video or photos of the action to contact the police.
He said whoever committed this criminal act will be caught and charged with criminal vandalism to property.
Chris Rhodes also contributed to this story.
