A mural dedicated to a slain Philadelphia Police Department sergeant was vandalized Sunday.
The mural of Sgt. Robert Wilson, near the intersection of 60th Street and Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia, was vandalized with the acronyms “ACAB" and "FTP," as well as the "circle-A" anarchy symbol.
The defacement drew immediate and angry reaction from police.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw tweeted at the vandal, "You didn't earn any extra "woke-points". You're not brave. You're not a revolutionary. You're certainly no hero."
“I’m saddened and angered that vandals would deface the mural of one of our beloved heroes, Sgt. Robert Wilson III. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Wilson family on this sad day,” said John McNesby, president of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 union. “Wilson served our great city with passion and compassion and is sorely missed by his friends and colleagues in the Philadelphia police department.”
The police union later Sunday announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.
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Wilson, a 30-year-old father, was killed on March 5, 2015 when two men attempted to rob a North Philadelphia GameStop store. Wilson was inside the store in full uniform buying his son a gift when two armed robbers entered and announced a holdup.
The officer got into a shootout with the two gunmen, diverting gunfire away from store staff and customers. Wilson was struck six times by gunfire and later died from his injuries.
The two gunmen, Carlton Hipps and Ramone Williams, were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 50 to 100 years.
This is not the first time Wilson’s mural was defaced. A similar incident happened last year.
The FOP said it was told city crews would be out to clean up the latest act of vandalism Monday morning.
Mural Arts Philadelphia also said crews were addressing the vandalism, adding, “We strongly condemn the defacement of public art.”
