Santa Cruz Police have identified 49-year-old Santa Cruz County resident Taj Blum as the scooter-riding, paint-dumping vandal who defaced the "Black Lives Matter" mural in front of Santa Cruz City Hall over the summer. Blum was arrested for felony vandalism but the act is not being considered a hate crime.
“What I know after living here in Santa Cruz for 21 years, . I can’t say it enough: Santa Cruz, y’all gotta step it up,” Santa Cruz NAACP President Elaine Johnson said.