Graffiti Vandalism Defaces Edmond Town Hall Interior

By Andrew Gorosko

Police are investigating a vandalism spree that occurred in Edmond Town Hall on the night of Friday, July 20, in which a vandal or vandals extensively spray-painted graffiti inside sections of the building, causing thousands of dollars of damage.

Much of that damage was done inside a recent addition on the north side of the building that houses an elevator and adjacent stairwell.

The graffiti damage occurred while the building was open to the public and theatergoers were watching the suspense feature film Disturbia.

Police are categorizing the crime as first-degree criminal mischief, a felony in which the damage value of vandalism exceeds $1,500.

Tom Mahoney, the administrator for Edmond Town Hall, said the building’s Board of Managers is awaiting a damage estimate on the incident. Although the insurance covering the building includes acts of vandalism, the policy’s deductible amount is $25,000, so the insurance coverage would not apply to the incident, he said.

The managers plan to have the damage repaired by a specialist firm that would then provide a bill for the work, he said. Such a bill would be the amount that the perpetrator would be liable to cover when he and/or she is convicted of the crime, Mr Mahoney said.

The person or persons who sprayed the white aerosol paint inside the building very likely has paint residue on their skin, exhibiting evidence of their involvement in the crime, he said. The heavy-duty paint is normally used for asphalt striping work outdoors and resists easy removal.

The vandal/vandals spray-painted the lowest-level brass outer doors of the new elevator, as well as adjacent external elevator controls. Also, spray paint was used to deface three levels within the new four-level stairwell, including rubberized matting, hand railings, walls, windows, doors, and a heat register. A fire alarm also was spray-painted, as were sections of the gymnasium and some lavatories.

The addition housing the elevator and stairwell opened for use in the spring of 2006. The addition was built at a cost of more than $1.5 million. It is designed to improve handicapped access to the 77-year-old building.

In a report on the incident, investigating police Officer Andrew Stinson stated that at about 9:30 pm, someone entered an area in the building where they found some cans of white spray paint, after which they used that paint to deface the interior. The paint was being stored near a wheeled machine that is used to apply paint stripes to asphalt parking lots.

After an Edmond Town Hall worker discovered the vandalism, police were called in to investigate.

The graffiti did not include any threats or racial epithets, police said.

The damage consists of various random white lines and markings, plus some words and initials, police said. These include, “Jim,” “Donna,” “Jim Loves Donna,” “AR,” and “DO.”

Police gathered evidence inside the building.

Police ask that anyone who knows who vandalized the building to contact Officer Stinson at 426-5841 or at 270-8888.

Police Sergeant John Cole said it is unclear how the vandal or vandals reached the area where the spray paint was stored. He noted that the building was open to the public because a film was being screened at the time of the incident.

Mr Mahoney termed the damage “a rather extensive amount of graffiti.” The crime likely was perpetrated by a “Jim” and/or “Donna,” or one of their friends, he said. “This is not a very bright person,” Mr Mahoney suggested, adding that he expects it likely was a disturbed adolescent who committed the vandalism.

“Whoever it [vandal] was has got to be covered with paint,” Mr Mahoney said of the spray-painting that was done in tight quarters within the stairwell.

A delicate clean-up problem is posed by the paint spayed on the elevator’s brass external doors on the building’s lowest level, he said. It is yet unclear whether some of the defaced items can be cleaned or need to be replaced, he said.

The Board of Managers’ financial accounts are tight, but the managers will need to absorb the clean-up costs for the damage repair, he said.

Kone Corporation, the firm that installed and maintains the new elevator, will inspect the damage done to that device, Mr Mahoney said.

The elevator, which had experienced repeated operational problems after it was installed last year, has been in good working order, Mr Mahoney said. However, the Board of Managers must now deal with repairing the elevator’s defacement, he added.

Mr Mahoney said he is considering seeking a local ordinance prohibiting loitering to deal with the various problems posed by groups of adolescents who loiter at the Edmond Town Hall property at 45 Main Street when films are shown in the theater there.

“We really don’t need this,” he said of the extensive vandalism.