$5,000 reward offered in racist graffiti case
Slurs were spray-painted on a house under construction in the town of Taghkanic, state police say.
TAGHKANIC, N.Y. » A reward is being offered for public assistance that leads to an arrest in their investigation of a suspected hate crime at a construction site on Taghkanic Road in this Columbia County town, state police said Wednesday.
The reward from the state is $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case, which involved racial slurs spray-painted on a new home under construction at 410 Taghkanic Road, police said.
On June 12, a contractor working on the home contacted state police after discovering graffiti when he arrived at the job site. Investigators believe the vandalism occurred sometime between 6:30 p.m. June 10 and the morning of June 12.
Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed anything suspicious in the area during that time period to contact investigators. In addition, investigators are asking any nearby residents with surveillance cameras to review their footage for any suspicious activity.
Anyone with information should contact the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Livingston at (845) 6777300.
The hate crime reward program was first announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in February to combat hate and bias-related incidents, along with the creation of the State Police Hate Crimes Unit. A member of the Hate Crimes Unit is involved with the Taghkanic investigation.
A Hate Crimes Text Line allows victims or witnesses to immediately report suspected bias-related incidents by texting “HATE” to 81336 with details of the incident, including photo or video documentation.
The text line is in addition to (888) 392-3644, a toll-free bias and discrimination hotline operated by the state Division of Human Rights. Since its creation last November, the hotline has received more than 5,500 calls, and has referred 127 complaints to the state police for investigation into potential criminal conduct, according to the press release.