Posted on 10/09/2004 8:10:00 AM PDT by Deadeye Division
Men videotaped vandalizing sign
Summit elections official catches culprits tearing down Bush-Cheney poster
By Marilyn Miller and Andale Gross
Beacon Journal staff writers
Two men who tore down a Bush-Cheney sign and urinated on it were caught on videotape by Summit County Republican officials early Friday morning.
The videotape shows the men sneaking into the yard of a West Market Street home and bending the sign to the ground. The men struggled to rip the sign out of the ground by shaking it and pulling it but couldn't get it off the posts, so they knocked it down. Sounds heard on the tape suggest the men urinated on the sign. They were white males, about 30 to 35 years old, well-dressed and well-groomed. They parked across the street in what police think was a foreign car, a Toyota or Honda.
The homeowner, Steve Kotsatos, who is also assistant to the director of the Summit County Board of Elections, called Akron police dispatchers at 10:38 a.m. Friday and told them about how his campaign sign was vandalized.
He said he caught the vandals on a night-vision camera he had installed the day before.
``A couple of days ago my neighbor's sign was set on fire with a blowtorch so I figured I might be next,'' Kotsatos said. ``This is not only criminal damaging but a safety hazard.''
The large 4-by-8-foot, red, white and blue sign was tipped over in Kotsatos' yard about 1 a.m. Friday.
John Kerry's name was scrawled across Bush's name in black marker on one side of the sign -- the work of previous vandals, Kotsatos said.
He discovered the bent sign at 6:45 a.m.
Police took a report of the incident and retrieved a copy of the videotape to review. No arrests have been made.
Akron police Lt. Sylvia Trundle said depending on the amount of damage -- officials estimate the sign's value at $200 to $400 -- the culprits could be charged with vandalism, but if the value is $500 or more they could face criminal damaging or criminal mischief charges. They are all misdemeanors and would carry a maximum sentence of six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
Local Republicans and Democrats say the stealing and damaging of campaign signs has been worse this presidential race than in past races. In some cases, the signs have been shredded and burned.
According to the Summit County Republican Party, about 3,000 of the 4,000 signs the GOP has handed out supporting Bush and Cheney have been taken from yards or damaged.
More than 1,000 signs backing Sen. Kerry, D-Mass., and running mate Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., have been taken from yards, according to the Summit County Democratic Party.
Both parties deny taking part in any sign stealing.
Even political leaders like Summit GOP Party Chairman Alex Arshinkoff and Summit Democratic Party Finance Chairman Wayne Jones have seen their signs targeted.
Officials in Medina, Wayne and Portage counties also have reported thefts of campaign signs.
Area police departments say they investigate sign theft complaints when they get them. They say it's best when a description of the vandals or their vehicle can be given.
Kotsatos said he had a Bush sign in his yard four years ago and nobody bothered it. The Republican Party is looking into a possible $1,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the men.
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or 800-777-7232 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com. Andale Gross can be reached at 330-996-3743 or agross@thebeaconjournal.com.
If you enter the URL ... http://www.krd1.com/quicktime/bush_sign.mov ....in Quicktime player it will load it right up
And killing terrorists would sink to their level .... that's appeasement Sir. The Brownshirts in Germany would have never gone so far if people had stood up to them to begin with. You need to think about that.
Taking a baseball bat to a punk's car is not equal to killing terrorists.
Please think about this.
The punks are acting like children.
Why cease being an adult and break the law merely to 'get them' when one can obey the law and get them?
No Sir ... taking out a headlight or a tail light WILL send a strong message Sir. These punks vandalized someones property and if something is not done about it up front they will become more and more embolded ... as you see them doing more and more each day . Or have'nt you seen the reports about Rep headquarters being vandalized. YOU think about it.
And then get arrested for vandalism while they get away scott free.
That is not a good mission attrition rate.
What IS a good attrition rate is getting their faces on tape, getting their license plates, and then making posters with their names and addresses available to everyone letting the neighborhood know.. like the Dear John posters of people frequenting prostitutes.
And all within the law.
What an idiot! This guy needs to go to prison.
That my friend is EXACTLY how you handle a bully ... like these punks. Kissing their ASS only makes one a coward and tells the punks that they can do anything they want without consequences. Kissing punks asses is how our society got so wussiefied in the first place
The cops would not do a thing ... anymore than they would do anything to the punkfor vandalizing your property. They were not there to see it and very very likely would look the other way.
I think I would sneak up and lock their car door so they could not leave. Then I would confront them and offer them an option: Each of them gives me $100 right there on the spot of I call the police. Of course, explaining that I had caught their every action on a night vision camera.
I'm used to the cops being more inclined to nail people for pulling down AlbaGore signs than people setting fire to Bush Cheney signs.
How do you get the video to play?
Down load Quick TIme. Better have MAC.
You apparently would run to the teacher if a bully picked on you
I on the other hand would take a ball bat to him (and I have in high school)
I don't believe that your way works ... I know mine does. I spent the day in the principles office for my "offense" and I am proud of every minute of that time. Guess what ... no one ever picked on me at high school again and that time in the principles office was WELL worth it.
Bookmarking video.
Their wives, children, mothers and friends must be so proud!
I just viewed the videotape and the STUPID WHITE DNC MEN look like liberal college frat "boys". My my my, Micheal Moore and Teresa Heinz Kerry are correct. STUPID WHITE dnc MALES really are CHILDISH LITTLE BOYS, with bladder control problems. The one guy resembles Ted Bundy, he was a very out going college boy too... (shudder)
"You apparently would run to the teacher if a bully picked on you"
If you have a lot of respect, why say this?
Why not look at what I've said in a different light?
Documenting the perps, getting their ID's and then trumpeting their behavior to the world?
What perps like that hate the most is discovery and exposure.
Breaking the law would not prove anything except to reinforce certain people's mental image of Republicans/Conservatives as lowbrow neanderthals.
The best thing to do is behave as an adult versus the Dimiot's behavior.
Getting them on tape burning a sign would be best since that is arson.
Maybe even felony arson, intimidation, and possibly even 'terroristic threats' like burning a cross on someone's yard.
(Please try to follow this line of thought to see what I'm getting at.)
If you mount your sign on a metal frame you can run a wire from your fence charger to the sign. Works great!
...
"Their wives, children, mothers and friends must be so proud!"
The creepy thing is they probably do. Misery loves company, and apparently urinating on other peoples property is theri rights to passage. Talk about primitive. In all her years of Gorilla research, Jane Goodall never observed such foul behavior among primates in the wild! Proves how devolved liberals remain.
Because that won't do ANY good.
So would you run to the teacher or not.
Just because I respect you for your opinion on other topics does NOT mean I agree with you on all. With this matter we are 180 degrees in opposition. I happen to respect a man who protects his property in the event that the cops won't.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.