FLOORED BY ANTI-POLICE GRAFFITI
Cops find ‘dangerous’ text on Southbridge park sign
Virulent anti-police graffiti found on a town park sign in Southbridge on the day Weymouth police Sgt. Michael Chesna was laid to rest outraged town officials and prompted a warning from police in other communities against copycats inciting violence.
“Are you kidding me? The people who protect us and face danger for us every single day,” said Southbridge Town Councilor Monique Manna. “It sickens me.”
“I was shocked, but mostly embarrassed,” Town Councilor Jorge Morales Jr. said. “With what a tremendous job our officers do in our town, it caught me off guard to be honest.”
Officers discovered the graffiti reading “Kill Cops” on Friday as officers from across the state turned out for Chesna’s funeral.
Police have found at least two additional locations with similar anti-police rhetoric written in red graffiti throughout town, according to Town Councilor Marc DiPietro.
“They’re expecting more,” DiPietro said. “This is going to go beyond the local jurisdiction based on the intent of the language. … I find it very disheartening.”
Chelsea police chief and president of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs Association Brian Kyes said he’s concerned someone might see the message and copy it in their own community, or even carry it out.
“A dangerous message like that — it certainly has the potential to incite violence,” Kyes said.
The insolence adds insult to injury as the law enforcement community mourns the loss of Sgt. Chesna, who was killed in the line of duty a week ago.
“I don’t remember the last time that I’ve seen anything like this,” Kyes said. “Certainly it’s significant that the timing was horrendous.
‘I was shocked, but mostly embarrassed. With what a tremendous job our officers do in our town, it caught me off guard to be honest.’ — JORGE MORALES JR., Southbridge town councilor
It’s extremely disappointing and also very concerning.”
Authorities are investigating and Southbridge police Chief Shane Woodson said he doesn’t think there is an imminent threat to police, according to reports.
Boston Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross and Waltham officer Scott Hovsepian, president of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, noted the majority of people are supportive of law enforcement.
Hovsepian said incidents like this bring the community of police officers closer together.
“I think it just strengthens the bond, it really does,” Hovsepian said. “It makes the men and the women who are working keep their eyes and their minds sharper.”
Gross pointed out that the vandalism is not a reflection of the Southbridge community as a whole.
“There are some people who are hell-bent against police officers and usually they’re not doing the right things,” Gross said. “It’s just not right. It’s disrespectful. But guess what, you’ll never deter us from protecting the commonwealth.”