Laconia police slow to investigate hate graffiti
Laconia’s police chief said he started investigating incidents of racist graffiti on the grounds of the abandoned State School property immediately after receiving a police report in March, but records show the police department had a report on file months before the investigation began.
In a March interview, Chief Matt Canfield told the Globe the issue was brought to his attention early that month and that the Laconiapolice initiated an investigation as soon as it was reported. Canfield said the investigation would be difficult because of how old the graffiti is — it started occurring last summer on the abandoned State School property — but some incidents were as recent as December.
Records obtained by the Globe show the graffiti was reported to the police on Dec. 25, 2022, about two months before the investigation launched. The police report said Tristan Chase reported finding racist graffiti at the school, where he works a few days a week as a groundskeeper. The state is in the process of selling the property.
Laconia Officer Beau Perras went to the State School to take the report. A pump house wall near the State School’s water tower had been tagged with a swastika and graffiti that read “Fascist 131 Zone,” according to the report and photos taken by Chase. Perras wrote that he then searched online and found it was possibly connected to the National Social Club NSC-131 based in New England. Three days later, Perras spoke with Chase and learned that the property has no surveillance cameras. With no leads on a suspect, Perras requested suspending the case until more information “is forthcoming.”
The police department had no reports on record from Lois Kessin, a Jewish resident of Laconia who has been pushing the town to hold the vandals accountable. In March, Kessin told the Globe she had reported the incident to the police in February.
Canfield did not respond to a request for comment on the Dec. 25 police report and the timing of the police investigation. Mayor Andrew Hosmer could not immediately be reached for comment.
David Stamps, the chair of Laconia’s Human Relations Committee, said he isn’t aware of additional graffiti incidents in Laconia since the investigation launched. The committee is working with Temple B’nai Israel on a Holocaust remembrance event May 6 at The Congregational Church of Laconia.
“I had a conversation with the chief and supposedly they’re going to take the next report that comes in a little more seriously,” Stamp said.