Police are investigating a vandalism case at a residence, as an unknown suspect damaged a flag.
On Thursday, April 7, 2022, at about 2:30 p.m., a resident of the 1400 block of Alma Street reported to police that a flag displayed in the front yard had been damaged overnight. Officers responded to investigate.
The investigation revealed that the residents had affixed the flag of Ukraine to a hedge in the front yard. At about 10:00 a.m. on April 7, the victim noticed that the flag had been torn from the hedge and left in a bundle in the yard. Upon closer inspection, the victim discovered that the bundled flag contained what appeared to be feces. Police believe the vandalism occurred sometime between the evening of April 6 and the morning of April 7. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
There have been no similar incidents involving the Ukrainian flag in Palo Alto reported to police. To view details on other hate crimes reported in Palo Alto, visit www.cityofpaloalto.org/PAPDnews and search by keyword “hate.”
The personnel of the Palo Alto Police Department will thoroughly investigate any reported hate crimes in Palo Alto. You are welcome to read a blog post from the City entitled “Steps the Community Can Take to Help Stop Hate Crimes.” The City of Palo Alto strongly denounces hate crimes of all kinds, and encourages members of our community to promptly report these incidents by calling our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413, or 9-1-1 if it is an emergency.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to [email protected] or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.
