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Friday June 16, 2000

Piedmont residents fear vandalism may be hate crimes

ALEZA GOLDSMITH
Bulletin Staff

A rash of vandalism in Piedmont that may have targeted minorities is currently under investigation by both the Piedmont district attorney and the FBI.

Homes and property owned by Jews, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans, as well as others, were hit during the May 28 attack. At least 10 cars and garage doors and a retaining wall were sprayed with blue paint. In addition, vandals broke several windows in some homes.

The word "Nigga" was painted on two cars, one of which belonged to an African-American family, and the phrase "187 Piedmont" was painted on a garage door on the Oakland-Piedmont border. Neighbors said 187 is known from rap music as the criminal code for "murder."

One Jewish family believes the scrawling on their car may have included a J for Jew, but Piedmont police argue that it is probably just a squiggle.

The main suspect, a 17-year-old female from Oakland, reportedly admitted the crime to both the Piedmont district attorney and the police, but she denied that her actions were racially or ethnically motivated. She was allegedly joined by two 17-year-old females from Manteca, but only the Oakland teen remains in jail. All three were charged with vandalism.

Detective Steve Dewarns of the Piedmont Police Department said the suspect claims the vandalism was aimed at one female, a pediatrician living on the Piedmont-Oakland border, who had tried to sever ties when the suspect became too fixated on her. The other acts of destruction were random, he said.

"This is a clear-cut case of stalking ," said Dewarns. "The vandalism occurred sporadically throughout the city and she had no idea who lived in what house. [The suspect] felt she was abandoned and that the doctor thought she was better than her. She decided that anyone with a holier-than-thou attitude would pay a price. Since Piedmont is a wealthy community, she believed Piedmont must have the same attitude.

"At this point, the DA is looking at it, but I don't believe it will be prosecuted as a hate crime," he added.

Some Piedmont residents, however, believe a sporadic attack on the homes of so many ethnic minorities is too much of a coincidence; especially in Piedmont.

"Piedmont may be getting more diverse, but the chances of that happening randomly is about as good as winning the lottery," said Ronnie Caplane, a member of the Piedmont Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Joan Tanzer and Gerald Frank, who own the car allegedly painted with a J agreed.

"It's really hard for me to believe it's random," said Tanzer, "especially considering the number of minorities and the level of accuracy."

The initial police investigation was publicly decried at a June 1 meeting of Piedmont's Community Relations Advisory Committee. Victims claimed that it was only through the prompting of resident David Oppenheimer, a civil rights attorney and professor of law at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, that fingerprints and paint samples were taken at the crime scenes.

Tanzer said the insufficient pursuit of evidence was disconcerting.

"There seems to be a lack of sensitivity and sophistication with regard to something like this happening in our community," said Tanzer.

Caplane, who was not a victim of the attack, added : "I don't think Piedmont is in danger of turning into a Nazi state, but I do think that constant vigilance is necessary. Police officers have to be vigilant and use something like this as an opportunity for themselves and the community to start looking at their attitude."

Piedmont Deputy District Attorney Chris Lamiero said that the perpetrator is currently being held on eight separate counts of vandalism and one count of stalking, but more charges may come. He said it is still too premature to determine whether this case will be prosecuted as a hate crime.

"It is safe to say that there was a diverse class of victims in this case," said Lamiero, "but a hate-crime charge depends on the perpetrator's motivation. Was the crime substantially motivated by ethnic or racial bias?"

Jonathan Bernstein, director of the Central Pacific region of the Anti-Defamation League, said he thinks the case has been adequately handled and is confident that the district attorney will conduct a thorough investigation.

He also said he hopes the Piedmont community will find a way to turn this "negative experience" into a "positive" one by recognizing the need "to reject this kind of bigotry in their community."

He said he has already received a call from the school district, pursuing the possibility of anti-hate-crime training and sensitivity training within the schools. Such training would also be relevant for local law-enforcement officials, he added.

"Whether or not this is found to be a hate crime, the people who were targeted feel like it is," Bernstein said.

Tanzer agreed.

"When I thought this might be racial I was really scared," she said. "How did this person know where we lived?"

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