AUGUSTA, Maine — Law enforcement organizations are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest regarding the vandalism of the Maine Law Enforcement Memorial over the weekend.
According to a Facebook post shared by the Maine Association of Police, the Maine Chiefs of Police Association and the Maine Sheriffs Association are offering a $1,000 reward for information.
Police said the memorial was vandalized over the weekend. The wall has remained covered in a tarp since the vandalism was discovered.
The memorial honors 88 officers killed in the line of duty from departments around the state. Law enforcement, state leaders, and surviving families met less than two weeks before the incident at an annual ceremony honoring the fallen officers.
At this time, it is unclear what the message written on the memorial is in reference to. An image of the vandalism had not been shared by police until the image was included in the Facebook post by the Maine Association of Police.
Capitol Police Chief Matthew Clancy told NEWS CENTER Maine on Tuesday that there is significant video surveillance throughout the Capitol complex where the memorial is located, and he is "relatively confident" that there will be a resolution.
"This day in age, there's cameras everywhere. And we are collecting as much of that as they can. But there's other things as well. If someone was traveling the area at 3:45 a.m. plus or minus a few minutes, early on Saturday and might've maybe seen something, we'd love to hear from you," Clancy said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Maine Capitol Police at 207-287-4357.
According to Kennebec and Somerset County District Attorney Maegan Maloney, the person responsible could face a felony criminal mischief charge.
"Every name on this wall behind us is there because these are people who were killed while protecting all of us. That's their job, that's their mission, some of them were killed in the process of trying to protect. And now to have this memorial desecrated, it's just beyond, it's absolutely devastating," Maloney said.
Chief Clancy tells NEWS CENTER Maine he expects the memorial to be cleaned by the end of the week.