Police trying to find out who vandalized and stole a Black Lives Matter banner
ROSWELL, Ga - Roswell police are trying to figure out who stole and damaged a huge Black Lives Matter banner. The owner said every time he put the banner up, something would happen to it. It's been taken down twice, stolen, and vandalized.
Surveillance video shows a man jogging up to a fence along King Road and ripping down a large sign.
"The subject tears the sign off this private fence," said Roswell Police Officer Sean Thompson.
The man is seen gathering up the banner and walking off.
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Thomas Zgambo first put up the 11-by-4-foot banner that reads "Black Lives Matter" in early June.
"With everything going on I thought we should do our best to support what's going on," said Zgambo.
It was only up for a week or so before it disappeared. Zgambo put a new one up and add cameras. Those cameras captured the man stealing it in the middle of the night. Zgambo put up another one and about a month later, cameras caught another guy destroying the sign.
Police said the man got out of a white Toyota Tundra.
"He's got a sleeveless T-shirt and glasses, I don't know if he had a box cutter or what he used," said Officer Thompson.
"it's too bad he thinks we're attacking his freedom, but he solves that by attacking ours and coming on our property and destroying ours? I just wish he would have knocked on the door and had a conversation if he feels that troubled by it," said Zgambo.
That was last week, Tuesday morning Zgambo said the damaged sign had been taken down. Hours later, Zgambo got a huge surprise when code enforcement showed up at his door.
The officer said he took the original banner back in June because he thought it could be a code violation. He also took down the vandalized banner because it was damaged. The officer returned both banners.
Zgambo said it's been frustrating but all of this has a positive outcome. He said a stranger donated a new banner to him, neighbors offered to help out, and someone left some handwritten signs for him that support Black Lives Matter.
"People are coming together, positive things are happening," said Zgambo.
As for the two men seen stealing and damaging the banner. Police are trying to identify them and say they could face charges.
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