Early in the morning on Thursday, May 23, unknown vandals dumped white paint across the rainbow crosswalk in the Perry District, officials said.
This most recent incident of vandalism came exactly a week after vandals set fire to the rainbow-flag-painted intersection in front of Riverfront Park on May 16, which is currently under investigation as an arson and malicious mischief, and marks the most recent in a string of homophobic destruction against queer businesses and art that has continued from last summer.
Ian Sullivan, Executive Director of Odyssey Youth Movement, shared photos of the initial vandalism with RANGE this week. Sullivan said that his organization, which is located near the crosswalk, has video footage of the incident, which has been shared with the Spokane Police Department.
After a neighbor called the vandalism in on Wednesday evening, Sullivan said another neighbor quickly joined the Spokane Fire Department (SFD) in hosing off the crosswalk with water to remove as much of the white paint as possible.
Julie O’Berg, SFD’s newest chief, told RANGE that she couldn’t share much about the incident because it’s an ongoing police investigation. “All I really know is that we helped clean it up,” she said.
The rainbow crosswalk on Thursday May 23 after it was sprayed down. (Photo courtesy of Ian Sullivan.)
Julie Humphreys, a spokesperson for SPD, confirmed that the most recent vandalism was under investigation as malicious mischief and said that no media release had been shared yet because “media attention is what these people want.” She also said vandalism is so common SPD can’t put out releases on every incidence of markings and graffiti.
City Council Member Paul Dillon, who represents the Perry district, told RANGE he was pleased with how quickly SPD and SFD addressed the vandalism.
“Now you can’t tell, there’s barely anything on the crosswalk itself,” he said. “I was very impressed with the response, that’s what we want to see.”
Despite the quick response, Skyler Oberst, executive director of Spokane Arts, said the mural will still need some repair. He anticipated a cost analysis of that repair would come next week, but said some parties had already expressed interest in helping with the funding and Spokane Arts would “try to mitigate the cost to the taxpayer, as always.”
Dillon also pointed to community sensitivity after repeated vandalism and said he wanted everyone to be mindful of impacted community members, especially the youth in Perry District who attend OYM. He said that there’s a delicate balance between transparency and not wanting to encourage vandals who are paying attention to news coverage they’re getting.
“How much longer is this going to keep happening?” Dillon asked. (Note — Dillon’s house has also been the site of multiple incidents of anti-queer crime, as vandals have repeatedly torn down a Pride flag that hangs outside his residence.)
Oberst echoed those sentiments, stating that he wants to see more people in leadership speaking out against the vandalism. “Without folks actually condemning and stepping up to protect those who are affected by these vandalism acts, without them saying anything, it just allows people to continue or feel emboldened to continue,” Oberst said. “These acts, as small or as trivial as some people think they are, have massive impacts on the perception of safety and in some cases, actual safety.”
Dillon said that in preparation for Pride, the Spokane City Council will be discussing precautionary measures and the ongoing vandalism investigations with SPD at Monday’s Public Safety Meeting. He also said the Downtown Spokane Partnership had installed a high resolution camera at the Riverfront Park intersection that would stay through the end of Pride Month.
Humphreys told RANGE both local businesses and SPD have security cameras near the two murals and SPD. She added that they were aware of upcoming Pride festivities and were planning accordingly.
“We staff for all public events according to available information and the climate around each event, which we closely monitor,” Humphreys said. “We are aware of the parade on June 8th and will provide officers to ensure a safe and peaceful event which includes traffic assistance, with the knowledge of the two recent incidents in mind.”
The new Pride intersection camera. (Photo by Justice Forral)
Despite his concern with the uptick in vandalism of public property targeted against the queer community, Oberst hopes that the public art will bring people together, and wants the community to rally around the pieces.
“We believe that art is a great place to make people think and hopefully come together,” Oberst said. “We believe that art in a community makes the community stronger.”
