Ladner church’s Pride flag vandalized again: police
Posted December 1, 2023 6:20 pm.
Pride flags at the Ladner United Church have been vandalized again, adding to a rising total of hate crimes at the building, according to Delta police.
The Delta Police Department (DPD) says a suspect approached a window where a Pride flag was displayed overnight sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning before shattering the window and running away.
Police say the suspect matches the description of the vandal from prior cases of mischief involving the church’s Pride flag.
Acting Inspector James Sandberg is urging the person responsible to stop.
“The act is considered an act of hate … there’s no point in hate,” he told CityNews. “At the point where we establish the identity of the person that’s responsible, we will be pursuing all avenues to hold the person accountable through court.”
Ladner United Church Leadership Council Chair John Collette says replacing multiple windows repeatedly can get expensive, time-consuming, and frustrating.
“We’re facing a situation I think where we have to decide how to declare our privacy principles in a way that avoids this,” he said.
“There is no suggestion that we will back off our support or pride … it’s time to brainstorm.”
Collette says the church may have to consider alternative options to display its support of Pride.
“We need some creative thinking because we’re not going away, there’s no wavering,” he said. “These are criminal acts by people who just spread hate against us or are the those who need Pride support.”
Sandberg asks locals to watch and review a video of the incident in hopes someone may recognize the suspect.
“We’re drawing attention to some unique clothing and some unique aspects of a bicycle seen in the previous video,” he said.
These aspects include a zip-up jacket with reflective material on the wrists, the middle of the back, and the zipper on the front.
Sandberg says there have been six or seven instances of vandalism at the church in the past couple of years.
Anyone with any information regarding these incidents is asked to call the DPD at 604-946-4411 and quote file number 2023-27721.
With files from Martin MacMahon and Greg Bowman
