City police are investigating graffiti promoting the Black Lives Matter movement painted over the weekend at Suggett Park’s Burch Building, according to the department.
The Cortland Police Department investigates all cases of criminal vandalism, regardless of the graffiti’s content, said Lt. Michael Strangeway this afternoon in a phone interview.
The graffiti appeared this weekend on the wall of the Burch Building and states “RIP George Floyd,” “BLM” and “I CAN’T BREATHE.”
The vandalism was highlighted on Facebook by a community group called “Back The Blue of Cortland New York.” The group states its aim is the “...support of the first responders that keep our community safe,” and that “The primary goal of our group is to honor them and create outreach opportunities.” The group is also planning to paint a “Back the Blue” mural on West Court Street, half a block away from the Black Lives Matter painting at the intersection of Main and Court streets.
In addition to photos of the graffiti, the group’s poster stated: “COMMUNITY ACTION ALERT!!! Please contact Mayor Tobin and Council to let them know you do not approve of this vandalism at Sugget Park and that you support the BTB mural!!!”
The post also stated a date would soon be set for a community clean up day.
Representatives from the group, as well as the “#BlackLivesMatter Cortland, NY” Facebook community group, were not available for comment last evening.
City Mayor Brian Tobin stated last evening that he was aware of the graffiti and the city had taken care of the situation at the park. "There was graffiti, it was taken care of," Tobin said. "Unfortunately this happens periodically in our parks."
The Cortland Police Department is maintaining a neutral position towards both groups and is focusing on investigating the vandalism, said Strangeway.
“The police department has no affiliation with, nor opinion towards, either group,” Strangeway said. “We’re going to investigate graffiti to the Burch Building as a crime regardless of content.”
The city does not have many issues with graffiti generally, Strangeway said, noting that most of the vandalism that does occur is at the former Buckbee-Mears Company factory on Kellogg Road.
But some isolated vandalism has affected the community in the past months.
ALM, slang for All Lives Matter, was painted on the side of the Unitarian Universalist Church on Church Street, as well as on the Cortland Youth Bureau Building, in June.
A New York City couple spray-painted graffiti in April on the side of St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Main Street for a music video and a Swastika was painted last October on the same Unitarian Universalist Church.
Two arrests were made in the St.Mary’s Church incident thanks to the couple’s music video, but no arrests were made in the other recent cases.
While police have currently exhausted all investigative leads in those cases, they would continue to investigate if new evidence were presented to the department, Strangeway said.
“Any case can be reopened based on the discovery of new evidence or leads,” he said.
Anyone with information regarding the incidents can reach the city police department at 607-753-3001.
