The City of Hoonah’s Department of Public Safety is investigating what they consider a “direct threat to public safety,” in the form of a large banner on an abandoned house.
According to a release from the village’s chief of police, David McKillican, at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday, multiple people called local law enforcement to report the banner hanging on the house, located on Front Street. Callers were emotionally charged, according to the release.
“Upon Officers arrival, they discovered a large banner posting a message that the Department of Public Safety interprets as a direct threat to the safety of its Officers,” the release stated.
The house is the former home of John Marvin Jr., who shot and killed Sgt. Anthony Wallace and his partner Matthew Tokuoka in 2010, according to McKillican.
The sign was posted about a week after the Southeast Alaska village, of about 783 people, dedicated a wooden memorial to both of the officers, near the home, McKillican said. He added that Marvin’s family members are not suspected in the sign incident.
The sign incident is being investigated as a hate crime, Hoonah police said. The department said they plan to pursue federal charges.
“While it is the Department’s policy to uphold the rights of all citizens under the 1st amendment; we believe the perpetrator(s) motives in this incident were a direct reprisal based on the recent erection of the new permanent Public Safety Memorial, threats of vandalism prior to the dedication of the Memorial on the 28th of August and based on the location of the banners posting,” the release stated.
Anyone with information is asked to call the department at 907-945-3655; callers can stay anonymous.
