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Community members gathered at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza in State College Sunday afternoon for a silent vigil following the defacing of the Martin Luther King Jr. mural overnight on April 16 with imagery of a white supremecist group.
The image of King was allegedly stenciled with the words PATRIOTFRONT.US in a red substance with an insignia below. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime by the State College Police Department.
Patriot Front was responsible for posting stickers at various locations around State College and Bellefonte on Jan. 7 to promote its group.
The silent vigil began with Faith United Church of Christ s lead pastor, Reverend Jes Kast, calling for attendees â regardless of their faith â to place their hand on their heart and ask themselves to consider what motivates them to stand up for justice.
Signs draped from the Allen Street Gates Tuesday evening read Abolish Police and Black Power during 3/20 Coalition s Justice for Daunte solidarity protest following the death of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on Sunday, April 11.
Wright was a 20-year-old Black man who was killed by a police officer at a traffic stop, according to the New York Times.
3/20 Coalition was created following the death of Osaze Osagie, who was fatally shot on March 20, 2019 by a State College Police officer serving a mental health warrant.
Osagie, who had autism and a history of schizophrenia, allegedly ran at officers with a knife. After an unsuccessful attempt to deploy a Taser on Osagie, he was allegedly shot by Officer M. Jordan Pieniazek. The three officers involved in the shooting have not been charged.
A recent assessment found residents have a generally favorable view of the State College Police Department, but that not all community members share the same perceptions of the department and local safety issues.
State College contracted with the National Research Center at Polco to conduct the National Police Services Survey “to get a comprehensive and accurate picture of resident opinions related to police services,” Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said during Monday night’s borough council work session. The borough has worked with NRC in the past on the National Community Survey.
Michelle Kobayashi, NRC’s senior vice president for innovation, presented an overview of the findings on Monday. She said invitations to complete the survey were received by 5,432 households about half in the borough and the remainder split between College and Harris townships, which also are serviced by the State College Police Department. Among those, 1,053 completed the survey.
Nanre Nafziger, co-leader of the 3/20 Coalition, leads a chant while marching in protest of the State College Police Departmentâs role in Osaze Osagieâs death two years ago in State College on Friday, March 19, 2021. The event is part of the 3/20 Coalitionâs 10 Days of Action, which ended on Saturday, March 20, the second anniversary of Osagieâs death.
Lily LaRegina