After defacing Fort Worth memorial, 3 people vandalized exterior bar wall, police say
Three people who defaced the Fort Worth Police and Firefighters Memorial later vandalized the exterior wall of a bar, police said Thursday as they released photographs of the suspects’ pickup truck.
The crimes occurred on Monday between about 3:30 and 4 a.m. Police do not know the suspects’ names.
According to photos accompanying a police union online post, the letters BLM, an acronym for Black Lives Matter, were painted on stone markers and sidewalks at the memorial.
About 30 minutes after vandalizing the memorial, the suspects painted slogans outside the Varsity Tavern in the 1000 block of Norwood Street, police said.
In May, a Black man filed a federal lawsuit against Varsity Tavern, alleging the bar refused to serve him and has often denied people entry because of their race. He said he was twice turned away in March 2018 for alleged dress code violations while non-Black patrons were admitted wearing the same clothing.
In response to previous complaints that the bar’s dress code was discriminatory, Varsity Tavern released a statement saying in part that “there can appear to be inconsistencies in enforcement of a dress code as we are all human” and “racial discrimination is something we, as a diverse family ourselves, take very seriously and absolutely do not tolerate or condone.”
Police have said they’re still investigating the motive for the vandalism.
The Fort Worth Police Officers’ Association collected donations to repair the damage to the memorial, which was quickly cleaned up, and said any remaining funds would be used for annual maintenance of the walls and memorial grounds, according to a Facebook post. More than $29,000 had been raised as of Friday morning.
“While criminals may physically tarnish this sacred memorial, the legacy of the heroes who gave their lives in service to this city can never be diminished,” the police union post said. “We have received numerous questions on how to donate.”
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 6:40 PM.
