A vandal badly damaged and destroyed American flags and statues at a cemetery and veteran memorial park in Stoughton, Massachusetts, last week.
The vandal destroyed statues at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery “beyond repair” and cut holes in American flags.
A 37-year-old man named Uenes De Almeida was charged for the vandalism spree after an off-duty police officer caught him cutting down a prisoner-of-war flag at Faxon Veterans Memorial Park.
However, the officer opted not to arrest the man during the incident, citing his mental health.
“We have learned we cannot arrest our way out of the problem. We can only hope there are mental health professionals that will commit to relentless follow up for people who need it the most,” the Stoughton Police Department wrote on Facebook. “Unfortunately we see the same people over and over again, indicating to us that the current system needs scrutiny. We will continue to handle cases like this with great care.”
De Almeida has been charged with three counts of vandalizing a gravestone; vandalizing a war or veteran’s memorial; removing a grave marker and two counts of malicious destruction of property.
Police published photos of the damage on Facebook, which included flags with holes cut in the centers and the statue which is now missing a nose, hand, and the head of the child.
Police are now seeking the missing parts of the statue.
“We are working with the Veteran’s Agent to properly and respectfully dispose of the damaged American Flags,” the Facebook post added.
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