Police Condemn Swastika Drawing at Foster City Teen Center

The Foster City Police Department earlier this week issued a statement condemning the defacement of a Foster City teen center with a swastika.

Police responded to a report of an approximately one-square-foot swastika painted with skateboard wax at a skate park adjacent to The Vibe on the morning of April 4, police Capt. Jon Froomin told Patch.

An incident report that was the basis for a Foster City Patch item inaccurately described the Nazi symbol as a "large swastika" that had been spray-painted and drawn with surf wax, Froomin said.  

The FCPD statement described the incident as "hateful and provocative," but indicated that police believe the incident was the isolated work of youth or youths, not part of an organized hate movement.

"All indications are that this was the unfortunate act of an ignorant young person rather than the act of an individual or group bent on Anti-Semitic aggression," the statement read.

"Nonetheless the Foster City Police Department does not condone vandalism, especially that involving emotionally hateful and provocative symbols and language such as this. This incident is currently under investigation and once identified, the person responsible will be dealt with appropriately."

The statement indicated that police have contacted representatives of Peninsula Jewish Community Center and the Peninsula Sinai Congregation who described the incident as a "foolish act."

PJCC spokeswoman Eileen Mitchell declined to comment on this story.

She said in an email that her group doesn't "think it’s worthy of press (which is exactly what the taggers might be hoping for).  

"We touched base with Foster City police who were confident that it was an isolated incident and not of concern."

Froomin told Patch that the incident is not being investigated as a hate crime because incident occurred on public property, and the victim in this case is the city of Foster City - not any specific person or group.

A spokeswoman from an anti-hate crime advocacy group told Patch the incident warrants a criminal inquiry.

"It's still a criminal act and it needs to be investigated as such," Anti Defamation League spokeswoman Nancy Appel told Patch.

Appel said the incident should be classified as a "hate incident," an unofficial law enforcement term commonly used for documentation purposes to distinguish acts that are hateful in nature, whether criminal or not.

"It's not a defined term the way hate crime is a defined term," she said.

Appel said when incidents such as the one in Foster City last week occur, the proper police response is to communicate with the public and monitor whether such incidents are isolated or part of a trend.   

She gave the FCPD high marks after reviewing the statement.

"It's a very good statement," she said in an email.

For more news about Foster City and surrounding areas,  and "like" us on Facebook. Sign up for our daily newsletter here.

Want to blog for us? Click here.