Racist stickers were recently found in downtown San Mateo near Benjamin Franklin Court, with police alerted Sunday, spokesperson Alison Gilmore said Monday.
According to Gilmore, the stickers contained disparaging slurs toward a particular group. She described the stickers as very small and looked like little labels for printers. She noted they were in an obscure area, and she said most people would likely not observe them due to their size and location.
“It’s not like people are going to look for them. They are very easy to miss,” Gilmore said.
No suspects or leads have been identified, and the police department is working to find and remove any stickers, Gilmore said. She noted it was impossible to know how long the stickers had been around and when they had been put up in public.
Gilmore said she was notified about the issue Sunday. Once the police department became aware of the problem, it put units in the area to check on the stickers and began removing them. Police will continue to monitor the area. Gilmore noted it was challenging to patrol for an issue like this, noting police could not stop every person in the area and that no camera footage is available of the incident.
A case has been opened into the incident, and the police department will work with park rangers at nearby Central Park to see if any appear in the park, as park rangers patrol the surrounding areas more regularly. If anyone is found to be responsible, they could face vandalism charges.
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cube_corner said:
What an awful sculpture. Very 2022 and already looks dated and cringe. If I was religious, I’d be certain it’s demonic.
LittleFoot said:
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(1) comment
Wow, the crime of the century? And I say century because it “… was impossible to know how long the stickers had been around and when they had been put up in public.” Could we get a little more information about what these supposed slurs are? Maybe they’re not really slurs - just what someone thinks is a slur. If I see a yellow, or brown, or red label, is that racist? And exactly what is meant by “very small”?
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