One item stood out among the racial and religious hate incidents noted in the Montgomery County Department of Police’s 2014 Annual Bias Crime Report released Friday.
On September 1, “A high-ranking staff member of the Israeli Embassy reported finding several bones on the front porch of the residence, and believed that it may have occurred due to religion or position,” reads the report. Police added “case closed, unfounded” next to the report description.
A police spokeswoman said in an email Tuesday that investigators conducted an “exhaustive investigation” and found nothing to indicate that the placement of the bones indicated a crime.
“More than likely, an animal dragged the bones (believed to be deer) up onto the porch and had a meal,” Officer Nicole Gamard said in the email. “This is based upon how the bones were found and the condition they were found in.”
A total of 31 hate-related incidents were reported to police in 2014, according to the report. Arrests were made in some of the cases, such as when three juveniles were arrested for painting swastikas on buses and a synagogue sign in Potomac in April as well as the case of a former Potomac restaurant employee who was arrested for leaving anti-Semitic and threatening voicemails on the restaurant owner’s phone in August.
Others cases were closed after police determined no crime was committed, and some were closed because there was a lack of leads, such a late December incident in Kensington in which eight properties were found with swastikas or racial slurs spray-painted on them.
Police are still investigating several cases, including an apartment vandalized with a swastika in October and an elementary school that reported an incident of race-related vandalism in December.
Just over half of the 31 reported incidents involved some sort of anti-Semitism, according to the police descriptions.
Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a message attached to the report that hate-based incidents affect the entire community.
“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,” Manger wrote. “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.”
