Update: Vacaville Police Station, City Hall Targeted By Vandals; Incident Under Investigation
VACAVILLE (CBS SF) -- A crowd of protestors vandalized the Vacaville police headquarters and other parts of city hall Sunday night, breaking multiple windows and spray-painting profane and threatening remarks about the police.
Officials said the incident began as a peaceful demonstration of about 40-50 people at Andrews Park, part of an ongoing Sunday evening protest with some participants carrying signs that read "Black Lives Matter."
As demonstrators marched along Merchant Street, witnesses saw some demonstrators spray-painting graffiti on signs and on the downtown bridge. There were similar spray-painted messages on several other buildings in the downtown area.
Once they arrived at city hall, officials said, some unruly demonstrators continued spray-painting and began breaking multiple windows, as well as a police department door.
Video and photos posted on Facebook showed broken glass doors and windows and a variety of messages spray painted at the two locations, including an anarchy "A" on a city hall sign, "KILL ALL COPS" on an elevator door and "KILL KKKOPS" painted on the exterior wall of a building.
However, protestors did not enter city hall or the police headquarters during the incident. There were no injuries or arrests reported.
When they left city hall, demonstrators continued the mayhem, breaking out the windows of two cars with people inside. While frightened, the occupants of the vehicles were not injured.
Later at Andrews Park, police investigators discovered an abandoned cart with two machetes in it. Inside a vehicle associated with the protestors, police discovered helmets.
"Vacaville respects peaceful protests but what happened Sunday night was unacceptable," said Vacaville Police Chief John Carli, "This does not reflect who we are as a community. As we prepare to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. tomorrow, we ask that the community reflect on his ideals and keep any demonstrations peaceful."
Joe Desmarais, a local resident who is running for a seat on the Vacaville City Council, posted photos of the damage on Facebook and decried the incident.
"Any group that pushes an agenda that results in violence, vandalism and hate, must be condemned by all of us so strongly they find no refuge in our community," the post read in part. "Those who participated in these acts must be prosecuted."
The incident is being investigated, If anyone has any additional information, they were asked to call the Vacaville Police Department.
