Three people were arrested and charged for allegedly spray-painting over a pro-police mural in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday.
A “Back the Blue” mural was painted in front of the Tampa Police Department on Aug. 1 and has been defaced multiple times, including Tuesday night, according to authorities.
Police found a group of people at about 11 p.m. spray-painting pro-Black Lives Matter messages over the mural, as well as graphic pictures and the word “pigs.”
Police arrested four people accused of spray painting the “Back the Blue” mural in downtown Tampa with profanity and drawings of pigs. It’s the third time in less than two weeks that the mural has been vandalized. https://t.co/lhzhuQpjQ1
— FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) August 12, 2020
Alexander Drummond, 18, Seth Raigoza, 18, and Emily Gabaree, 19, were arrested and charged with one count of criminal mischief after the incident. A fourth underage person was also detained but was released.
“People are being treated incorrectly by police officers. Not every police officer, obviously, but it’s a message that needs to be spread, and it needs to be done right,” Colin Vatter, a friend of the accused, said.
He added that about 20 officers “swarmed” the accused and labeled them “rude.”
A pro-police group first painted the mural at the start of August to show officers “there’s a huge force” supporting them.
“We want to make sure that they know just because we aren’t the loudest doesn’t mean we aren’t there and in numbers. There’s a huge force,” Kelli Campbell, a group organizer, said after the mural was painted. “Our Back the Blue Florida group has 5,000 members in it, and that’s just a piece of the puzzle, of course.”
Campbell said that the group received verbal approval from the city to paint the mural but never completed the entire permit application process.
“Any tribute to honor their service is welcome,” a spokesperson for the mayor’s office told the station. “It’s unfortunate they didn’t see the permitting process through so that our community could participate in showing their appreciation for the brave men and women that service our residents every day.”
