Three Eugene City Councilors woke Monday morning to find anti-police graffiti sprayed on their homes.
At Monday evening’s council meeting, Mayor Lucy Vinis condemned what she described as a misdirected effort to intimidate councilors into defunding the police.
“To the people who sprayed graffiti. Your anonymous actions are cowardly and counter-productive,” Vinis said. “You are only hurting yourselves. The rest of this community wishes to engage a respectful and promising path forward with civil discourse on these most important issues.”
During their work session, the council heard from staff about the results of a public engagement project to gather opinions on public safety and how to spend the funds from a new payroll tax to support public safety. The process included focus groups, listening sessions, an online survey and outreach to BIPOC and LBGTQ community members.
Earlier Monday, Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner put out a statement about the graffiti at councilors’ homes:
“These brazen acts are potentially felony-level crimes, and the activity is an affront to our local government process and to our community. Attempting to intimidate elected officials by defacing their homes is criminal behavior.”
Eugene police are seeking public tips that might help them find those responsible.
Copyright 2021 KLCC.
