With no further leads, police have closed their investigation into a series of swastikas spray-painted on an inflatable Christmas decoration, signs and other pieces of property in a Kensington neighborhood.
While police were able to make arrests in two other high-profile hate crimes in 2014, the Kensington spray-painting incident will only be reopened if new information comes in, according to the department’s annual bias and hate crime report released last week.
The department reported 33 incidents with a bias or hate component. Police said 18 of those incidents were criminal, an unofficial number that will be confirmed when the FBI publishes its annual report.
It was the second straight year the number of hate crimes in Montgomery County increased, though the number of hate crimes remained down significantly compared to the 10-year peak of a little more than 40 in 2006.
“Each of these criminal acts represents more than just a statistic to us. Each carries with it a victim, and some harm to our community. That harm to our community is never more visible than when we respond to and investigate a hate crime,” Police Chief Thomas Manger wrote in the report. “A swastika spray painted on a car, or a racial slur etched into the front door of a home would not be merely examples of vandalism cases. These crimes, motivated by bias, can send shockwaves throughout our community. The potential for harm to our residents’ sense of safety and well-being underscores the importance of responding appropriately to these kinds of acts.”
Police did make arrests in two other high-profile, anti-Semitic cases in the county in 2014.
In May, police arrested two teens for drawing anti-semitic messages on a synagogue, buses and a home in Potomac and Rockville.
Police said that between April 18 and April 21, the two drew a swastika and wrote “All Jews Burn” on two buses at the Montgomery Child Care Association (11614 Seven Locks Road). They also drew a swastika on the sign for Young Israel of Potomac synagogue next door and a home in the 11100 block of Old Coach Road, police said.
The Old Coach Road drawing including the message “SS,” according to police.
In August, police charged a former employee of Benny’s Bar and Grill in Potomac with threatening owner Benny Fischer and making anti-Semitic remarks after Fischer hung an Israeli and American flag outside of his restaurant. Fischer said he put the flag up to show his support for Israel in its military conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The hate crime report says police also looked into the report of “several bones on the front porch” of the home of a “high ranking staff member of the Israeli Embassy,” but did not investigate further.
In January, police released photos of a racial epithet that had been spray-painted on the garage of a black resident in Chevy Chase. No arrests have been announced.
PDF: Annual Bias Crime Report — 2014
Photo via MCP
