SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A Bay Area police department is investigating the burning of an LGBTQ Pride flag on an elementary school campus as a possible hate crime.
For more, stream KCBS Radio now.
The Pacifica Police Department on Friday announced they are looking for a person who allegedly removed a flag affixed to a classroom at Sunset Ridge Elementary School on June 6, burned it and left it on the other side of the campus the following day.
Pacifica police officers responded to a city-run after school program on the campus at 2:08 p.m. on June 6, learning that someone had taken the flag. Police didn’t say who discovered the flag a day later.
"This type of crime is in strong contrast with the deeply held values the City of Pacifica and community members believe in," Pacifica Police Chief Daniel Steidle said in a statement. "Crimes involving hate will not be tolerated in our community and will be thoroughly investigated."
Officials announced the reported incident amid a recent uptick in homophobic and transphobic incidents in Bay Area public spaces and toward public officials.
A group of alleged Proud Boys stormed a Drag Queen Story Hour at a library in San Lorenzo, hurling homophobic and transphobic slurs at the performer. That prompted the Alameda County Sheriff's Office to open a hate crime investigation.
The next day, bomb-sniffing dogs searched San Francisco State Sen. Scott Wiener's home after his staffers received a profane emailed threat, mentioning Wiener’s support of "drag queen events involving minors" following his tongue-in-cheek tweet about drag shows.
Wiener, in an opinion piece for the San Francisco Chronicle, attributed both incidents to Republican lawmakers' "hateful policies targeting LGBTQ people."
"Republicans have focused on making people think that the root causes of all of these challenges are trans people and 'groomers,' not their own failed policies," Wiener wrote. "According to right-wing politicians and online 'activists,' being gay or trans means being a pedophile. And while child sexual abuse is very real and very serious, these are disgusting and baseless smears against LGBTQ people to try to make us go back in the closet."
Anyone with information about the Pacifica incident can call the city's police department at 650-738-7314 or its anonymous tip line 650-359-4444.
DOWNLOAD the Audacy App
SIGN UP and follow KCBS Radio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Related
