Palo Alto, CA – Police are investigating a vandalism case discovered at a park as a hate crime, after an unknown suspect wrote racial epithets on the sidewalk.
On Saturday, November 1, 2025, at about 11:31 a.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call reporting a vandalism that had just been discovered near the Magical Bridge Playground at 3700 Middlefield Road. The reporting party, a passerby, told police that they had observed racist graffiti written on the concrete sidewalk.
Officers responded and located the graffiti on the sidewalk near the playground. The writings, done with spray paint, were racial epithets directed at Black people. City of Palo Alto staff from Public Works responded to remove the writings. Police do not know when the incident occurred. There is no suspect information. There have not been any other similar reports received by police recently in Palo Alto.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984, or submitted using the “TipNow-Palo Alto” app, which is available via the App Store or Google Play.
To read this release on the city's website click here: https://www.paloalto.gov/News-Articles/Police-Department/Police-Investigating-Graffiti-at-Park-as-Hate-Crime?transfer=ec1805f4-bd85-4b5c-9900-2fe08d3648a0
