Venice Police Chief comments on the anti-Semitic flyers that were left on the island and the hate email sent to the Mayor

Two Saturdays ago the island of Venice was hit overnight by the trend of anti-Semitic flyers in drive-ways. Last Saturday our Mayor received an anti-Semitic encrypted e-mail.

These instances are hateful but not criminal. Our community should know that the Venice Police Department has and is investigating each issue thoroughly and thoughtfully to assess the messaging for crime or threat to our citizens. We don’t want this hate anywhere in our city and we stand with our community members and our faith leaders in condemning these efforts to spread hate propaganda. These messages are meant to elicit responses of anger and fear. I, as your chief, have struggled with giving the material any continuing public platform or acknowledgment. I have talked to several citizens and cohorts about this and I am grateful for their input and understanding. My response to the material, and the concern about a necessary community message, is that the Venice Police Department is touching every base strategically and we will live by our mission “to provide public safety and preserve order for our citizens, visitors, schools, and businesses”. That mission is our commitment.

Thank you, Venice for standing strong with us.