SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - New cellphone video shows a vandal targeting a pride flag display in Scripps Ranch.
“There are just so many emotions and feelings that come to my mind,” said Brittany Fuller.
For Fuller, the video is hard to watch.
“Totally disgusting. It’s sad,” said Fuller.
Fuller, who leads the Scripps Ranch Pride Council, says a community member recorded it while driving to work Monday morning.
In the video, a person can been running alongside Pomerado Road, knocking down Pride flag poles.
“You can definitely see excitement in the individual, a rush,” said Fuller.
Nearby a white pickup truck with a blue dirt bike in the back, appears to be following along.
In all, five poles were bent, while one was snapped. Two days prior, one of the flags was stolen. The total loss was about $500.
“It's a direct attack on our visibility and us being able to be who we are in this community,” said Fuller.
The Scripps Ranch Pride Council put up 28 Pride flags along a several-mile stretch of Pomerado Road this week to celebrate Pride in San Diego.
SDPD Lt. Adam Sharki hopes the video will lead to a break.
“It is being investigated as a possible hate crime,” said Lt. Sharki. “That sort of conduct just isn’t not tolerated here in San Diego. It’s something the police department takes very seriously. It’s something we make a priority. We want the community to know that.”
The vandalism comes after a string of other incidents involving a rainbow-painted fence at Fuller's Scripps Ranch home, targeted seven times in the past year, from vandalism to Pride flags stolen. Police are looking to see if those incidents are linked to the recent ones.
Back on Pomerado Road, Fuller says the display is expanding, thanks to community donations. The Pride Council started a fundraiser to help maintain the flag display. By Friday, the 29th and 30th Pride flags will be up.
As for the person who brought down the other flags, Fuller says he must be tracked down.
“They attacked our community and our identity, and who we are, and we will not stand for that,” said Fuller.
Police are hoping to talk to the driver of that white pick-up in the video.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call San Diego Police at 619-531-2000 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
