April 2005 Vandalism Incidents
|
Some thoughts from friends and neighbors… “Love is never wrong.”“Sad that such a thing happens. May we all take this as a sign to advocate openly for diversity.” “We cannot allow ourselves to repeat the shameful mistakes of the past, to turn a blind eye on this kind of destructive and hateful activity. The Pride Center has been a good neighbor to us here in the Mile High Neighborhood. It has contributed to making the area a safe and enjoyable place to raise our families. We are honored that the Pride Center is part of our vibrant community.” “We’re home-schooled teens and we support you guys.” “I feel happy to see that people came together to make it better.“ “I am a neighbor from up Oregon Avenue. I was pretty scared and disappointed by the vandalism that occurred here. I want you to know you have my full support, in this ‘hood and everywhere.” “Don’t let the bad guys win. We care that this place continues and that “To those who have suffered as a result of this shocking incident, know that we “We’ll always be here to “I was truly disheartened to hear about the anti-gay tagging at the Pride Center. I have been an
‘out’ lesbian 30 years, so I have been a witness to and a target of anti-lgbt bias, discrimination,
verbal abuse, and violence. And yet, I will never get used to hate. I hope none of us do. The Prescott Pride Center
is so important to the LGBT community, and it serves as a source of education for the wider community. I appreciate the
time and passion you “We were saddened and ashamed that someone in our community would commit such an act of hate and destruction. We hope our donation will help you somehow, and hope that others will join us in our support. Keep strong!” |
Click on the small square images to open the whole images of the police press releases or photos of the vandalism in a new window.
The Event
The following is condensed from articles in the May through August, 2005, issues of Pride Center’s newsletter, The Pride Connection.
The Pride Center was vandalized for the third time in the early hours of April 2nd, 2005. The scene this time cut more deeply than before. The words “faggot” and “queer,” along with a swastika and other offensive graffiti, were spray-painted all over the Pride Center property. It was a disturbing sight, but what unfolded over the days and weeks that followed lifted our spirits. We received notes and letters of support, donations, phone calls, and personal visits from neighbors, friends, and allies, many of whom we had never met before. The loving response to this hateful act revealed a lot about our home town. It’s now very clear that our friends and neighbors simply won’t tolerate this kind of prejudice. That made Prescott’s pride celebration [in May] ring with a new kind of unity and strength. Isn’t it amazing how an act of prejudice can be transformed by a compassionate community into a deeper sense of pride?
Within a few days, the Prescott Police Department informed us that three teenagers who live near the Pride Center had accepted responsibility for the vandalism. According to police, they received a tip through the Silent Witness program that led them to the first young man who then named another two. It is believed that at least two other teens were present during in the incident, but did not participate in the criminal damage. We were pleased to hear, too, that the parents of the vandals reacted with utter disapproval.
On July 18th, 2005, the three teens were sentenced by the Yavapai County juvenile court system. Judge Robert Brutinel took the case very seriously and sentenced all three boys to one year of supervised probation, along with a number of additional consequences. The teenagers were ordered to pay financial restitution, complete 40 hours of community service, undergo individual counseling, write a report regarding the implications of their crime, and participate in victim-offender mediation. Judge Brutinel also restricted their driving privileges, allowing them to drive only to and from work or school. All three boys apologized for their actions and accepted their consequences with grace.
A few days later, the teens and their parents met with Pride Center board members for a lengthy mediation session through the Yavapai County Victim-Offender Mediation Program. This meeting was everyone’s first real opportunity for face-to-face dialogue. The content of our mediation session is confidential, but the process resulted in healing and forgiveness. In the end, all three boys agreed to voluntarily attend a diversity awareness camp and to complete their community service with diverse populations. We would like to thank Heather and Glady, our mediation facilitators, for helping us achieve such a positive outcome.
Again, we wish to offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone—old friends, and new—who responded to these events with such an outpouring of support for the Pride Center and our community.
[ Top of this page. ]
Open Letters of Apology on File
The Pride Center received open letters of apology from two of the boys, which were published in the June and August 2005 issues of The Pride Connection as we received them. In the interest of the boys’ privacy, we have removed the letters from this web page, but retain them on file at the Pride Center.
[ Top of this page. ]
This page last updated Sat 02 Dec 06. Please email us with any problems or comments about this site.