Remember this month’s tale of a Berkeley student who claimed he was racially profiled and detained illegally, held in jail for almost two days without being able to see a lawyer, and said that Berkeley police mocked his ethnicity? That story just got a whole lot less sympathetic now that the alleged victim, 21-year-old Ismael Chamu of San Francisco, has been arrested again for a brazen vandalism spree according to Berkeleyside. More than 30 acts of vandalism were committed on June 28, according to Berkeley police, including cars graffitied with the phrase “F*** White People,” fences tagged with “Kill Cops,” and the sides of Berkeley homes spray-painted with anarchist symbols and “F*** Liberal Scum.”
The ABC 7 video above shows several of the estimated 35 acts of vandalism, all of which Chamu is charged with being responsible for. “Some of the slogans were racially motivated, they were derogatory in nature. They identified people by race which makes it a hate crime,” Berkeley PD Sgt. Andrew Frankel told ABC 7.
Chamu's graffiti expressed anger toward "liberal scum," and as Berkeleyside notes, he had also been posting messages to Facebook about gentrification, and expressing anger toward the "right wing" too.
Neighbors near the vandalism sites convened on Nextdoor and went to police following Chamu's arrest, noting that he was carrying a switchblade and that tires had been slashed the same night of the vandalism which appears to have occurred around the time of Chamu's late-night arrest along with an accomplice on suspicion of an unrelated burglary, in which he was quickly cleared.
Sgt. Frankel also spoke to KTVU, telling them, “17 vehicles had their tires slashed. F-the police, anarchy symbols, Antifa symbols, F-white people spray painted on people's cars," Frankel said.
Image: Berkeley PD
In addition to being just plain offensive, the vandalism has created significant problems for many of the victims. "One of my friends he still hasn't replaced his tires because his insurance doesn't cover it. So he still has to figure it out," Berkeley resident Ruben Escolero told KTVU.
Chamu is still in police custody and his bail is set at $85,000. He’s scheduled to be arraigned on all of the vandalism and hate crime charges on Monday, July 24, in Berkeley.
Related: Vandal Melts Slides, Causes $1 Million Damage To Popular Golden Gate Park Playground
