Garage fire eyed as hate crime
Swastika, racial epithet seen on burning building
SCHODACK, N.Y. >> Town police are now investigating a Sunday night garage fire as a likely hate crime.
Schodack police Chief Joseph Belardo said Lequan Madison, the homeowner at 29 Cold Spring Ave., woke up in the middle of the night to find his attached garage going up in flames.
“The homeowner, who lives out by Nassau Lake, had got up to use the bathroom, and he saw a glow in his yard,” said Belardo. “He looked out and saw that his garage was on fire. He called 911, and when first responders showed up, they noticed there was a swastika and a racial epithet spray-painted on the front of the garage.”
Belardo said about a halfdozen fire companies were called in to fight the blaze, which destroyed the garage, though firefighters were able to limit damage to the house. Belardo said his department then called in its fire investigation team to try to determine where and why the fire started.
“We also had a K- 9 come in from the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Department, specially trained for fire investigating,” explained Belardo. “Right now, as it stands, we are investigating it as a hate crime and we are working with the state police very closely, so that we can try to find out who did this.”
Once investigators determine who started the fire, Belardo said they will face a list of serious charges.
“We’re looking, at the very least, at arson in the first- degree, which is a very serious crime,” said Belardo. “There would also probably be a variation of reckless endangerment, at the very least, since the garage is an attached garage and is very close to the house.”
Belardo said such an incident has very rarely been seen, if at all, in the town.
“I’ve been here forever, and I can’t remember the last time that I’ve seen anything like this,” said Belardo. “We have fires, we even had intentional fires lit in the past, but not in recent memory have I seen
anything like this.”
Belardo said the community as a whole is upset about this incident, and he asked for its help during the investigation.
“We support and care about our friends and our neighbors in our community,” said Belardo, “so this is something that is a top priority for us. We need any information that the community may have. The help of the commu- nity is going to be crucial to try and help us solve this case.”
The crime was also denounced Tuesday by both the Albany chapter of the NAACP and the Albany Law Enforcement Reconciliation. The Rev. David Traynham, president of the local NAACP chapter, said in an email that he has met with investigators from local and state police, as well as the FBI, and while the groups are reserving judgment until the investigation is completed, he said that if it indeed is a hate crime, he and the people he represent want those responsible to be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“This act is an example of the brazen spirit of racism that has touched various cultures in increasing manner in recent months,” Rev. Traynham wrote. “We are prepared to take legal, legislative and community action against any acts of hate that threaten to destroy and degenerate our society. Although we know racism exists, it becomes more threatening when those in our own community [are] affected.”