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Published on 07/07/1999 All articles from this issue

Swastikas turn up around Los Altos

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

In two recent incidents residents discovered swastikas painted on signs in Los Altos.

"There are no indications that these are hate crimes," said Los Altos Police Sgt. Mark Macaulay.

In the first, a Sunnyvale resident noticed a swastika on a Neighborhood Watch sign about 1:30 p.m. June 25 at the corner of Newcastle Drive and Holt Avenue in south Los Altos.

"That's a real mockery to the community," said Debrah LaRue, who saw the swastika and reported it to police. She said it particularly upset her to find it on a sign about fighting neighborhood crime. "I'm Jewish. I try to ignore swastikas. But I feel it's my job to confront hate."

She said she painted a red line, the international symbol for no, through the swastika.

The next day another woman reported to police that she found a swastika about 9:15 a.m. painted onto a sign for her tumbling class at Grant Park. The park, in the 1500 block of Holt Avenue, is near the intersection of Newcastle and Grant.

"There's no indication that (the two incidents) are related to each other," Macaulay said.

He did say there have been no swastika graffiti found in Los Altos "for several years."

He said that two in one week is "highly unusual."