A dead raccoon and a sign with racist and “intimidating language” was left on the front door of an Oregon mayor’s office Monday, authorities said.
Redmond Police Department detectives responded to a call from Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch at around 8 a.m. local time, Redmond police said in a news release. Fitch found the dead animal with a sign mentioning Fitch and Black city councilor Clifford Evelyn by name.
“Based on the content of the sign’s message and the dead raccoon this is being investigated as a potential bias crime in the 2nd degree,” police said in the news release.
Fitch said the message on the sign was “racially hateful,” The Bulletin reported.
“I feel bad for Clifford. It seems there’s some people in town that can’t accept the fact that Clifford is Black and is on the City Council,” he told the publication.
Raccoon imagery has long been an insulting, anti-Black caricature in the United States. With roots in slavery, it’s among “the most blatantly degrading of all Black stereotypes,” according to the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Imagery in Michigan.
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What is a bias crime in Oregon?
A bias crime, also known as a hate crime, is a crime “motivated in part or whole by bias against another person’s race, color, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”
“The Redmond Police Department has no tolerance for hate speech of any kind, against any person or group,” Police Chief Devin Lewis said in the release. “We will work swiftly to resolve this case and seek to hold those who did this to our community responsible.”
“I’m just not going to give in to cowards,” Fitch told the publication. “It’s sad to see that people would do something like this because it’s not reflective of our community and the people who live here,” he added.
Police are asking the public for help with the investigation. They said the sign was placed at the front door late June 4, or in the morning June 5.
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Contributing: Associated Press
