Cobourg police are investigating after a light-armoured vehicle monument was defaced over the weekend.
Police say sometime between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, the LAV III monument at 700 D’Arcy St. was defaced with spray paint. Police were informed of the incident on Sunday morning by a member of Today’s Northumberland.
The full-sized decommissioned replica was established in November 2019 to commemorate Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan.
The vehicle was found with the message “Death to Imperialists.”
The Cobourg Police Service’s forensic identification services team has processed the site, and the Town of Cobourg’s Parks and Recreation staff have removed the graffiti, police said Sunday afternoon.
“Having your personal opinion is fair. It is in the Canadian Charter of Rights, but when you deface someone else’s property, that becomes a criminal issue,” said police chief Paul VandeGraaf. “Someone decided to deface a memorial to war veterans — a complete disregard for the thousands of Canadian Armed Forces personnel who served and the 162 Canadians who died for peace and freedom to the people of Afghanistan.
“Defacing a memorial dishonours those who sacrificed their lives, their families and the women and men who served that continue to struggle with those invisible wounds that come with their sacrifice. It’s a disgrace, and I ask anyone that has information to come forward.”
Anyone in the area of 700 D’Arcy St. on the weekend, who saw anything suspicious, or who may have dash-camera footage is asked to call police at 905-372-6821 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS or leave an anonymous tip online.