Richmond RCMP are still on the hunt for those responsible for spraying graffiti on the cenotaph outside city hall, as well as a host of other sites across the community.
Const. Adrianna Peralta told the News an investigator with specialized training in graffiti is on the case and is asking the public for help if they witnessed or have video surveillance footage of the actions believed to have taken place between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning (Feb. 25 and 26).
In addition to the cenotaph, a pair of Richmond City Hall signs — one at the corner of No. 3 Road and Granville Ave., and another at the main driveway of city hall — were defaced.
City staff said those have already been cleaned, but it’s the 92-year-old, granite cenotaph which is a concern given its age and historic importance.
City spokesperson Kim Decker said a graffiti removal consultant is being brought in to assess the damage and suggest the best way of cleaning it away.
The specific problem rests with where the black spray paint used overlaps the inscriptions — the names of those local residents who gave their lives in war — some of which date back to when the cenotaph was installed in 1922.
This is not the first time the cenotaph has been targeted. Decker said the last incident was about a decade ago.
Normally, graffiti on city property is removed quickly — usually within a day — to act as a deterrent.
Other areas believed to be linked with the city hall site include 13 to 15 pieces of public art — installed for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games — stretching from the raindrop sculpture on the waterfront at Cambie Road and River Road, down to the Richmond Olympic Oval.
Decker said a door on one the buildings at Britannia Heritage Shipyard in Steveston was also vandalized and has since been cleaned.
Other sites hit in Steveston include the Japanese fisherman’s memorial, and signage for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. So far, the RCMP has not been able to discern if the graffiti contained any specific message, but judging from the style and medium used police believe the incidents are connected.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Richmond RCMP at 604-278-1212 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
