Flag graffiti upsets residents in Phoenix neighborhood
Reported by: Lori Jane Gliha
Email: ljgliha@abc15.com
Last Update: 8/15 10:44 pm

The painted American flag mural that fills a wall near 40th St and Cactus in Phoenix is now free from graffiti, according to the woman who painted the original mural there in 2001.

On Friday afternoon, neighbors complained that someone had stenciled the "f" word -along with Sheriff Joe Arpaio's name - on the flag mural.

The black lettering covered part of the red and white stripes on the flag.

"With 9-11's anniversary coming up, this was even more horrible to me," said Brandy Baron, a neighbor who enjoys looking at the flag mural when it's graffiti-free.

"It's not the part about Joe Arpaio that bothers me; it's the part that they would disrespect our flag," she said. "It's an open sign that they hate America."

Neighbors who support and don't support the Sheriff said they were offended by the graffiti.

"If they don't like Joe Arpaio, that's great," said Baron, an Arpaio supporter. "Vote him out (of office)."

"That's where you show people what you think," she said. "At the polls."

Sheriff Joe Arpaio told ABC15, "First of all, I'm a veteran myself....They can say what they want about me....However, doing this is disgraceful."

"Whoever has done it, it's disgusting; it's a personal front on our country- on all our veteran's who served our country," he added.

"We will do everything we can to find out who is behind this despicable act," he said.

Phoenix police said they found reports of similar graffiti - not on an American flag image - near 62nd Street and Shea.

Mesa police also reported finding recent anti-Sheriff graffiti on some buildings there.

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