LAPD investigates vandalism at police headquarters

Los Angeles police are looking for whoever vandalized areas around their downtown headquarters, a department spokesman said Tuesday.

The writing of graffiti is believed to have coincided with the one-year anniversary of the Occupy L.A. protests. Protesters rallied Monday in Pershing Square and marched to the area around City Hall.

"It's unfortunate the way some people choose to protest things they don't like," said LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith. "I can't see how vandalizing public property helps anybody's cause."

According to police, the vandalism included chalking sidewalks around police headquarters with slogans like "Protect and serve the 1%" and "Pigs."

But the vandalism included slogans that were scrawled in permanent ink on one of the marble walls on the side of the Ronald Deaton Auditorium and one of the statues on the west side of the building. In addition, someone defecated next to the statue.

Officials with the city's General Services Department were inspecting the damage and police said they are taking pictures of the vandalism as part of a potential criminal investigation.

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-- Andrew Blankstein

Photo: Josh Melgoza, 21, of the Occupy L.A. movement, chalks a slogan on the sidewalk at City Hall on Tuesday. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times