Seattle enterprise proprietor slams metropolis officers for not doing something to cease graffiti vandals

A Seattle business owner told Fox & Friends Thursday that vandals had fired hundreds of times at his warehouse and that “every day is a battle” – especially because city officials did nothing to help.

“Our business has been tagged, destroyed … we’ve broken into our yards and our trucks have been partially removed, battery cables disabled and removed, and it just keeps happening,” said Todd Biesold, owner of Merlino Foods, said.

“It’s been going on for a few years,” he added, noting that “COVID has exacerbated the situation.”

Corporations across the country, including Seattle, were also subject to vandalism and looting during the riots sparked by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis in May 2020.

Biesold said his store is in SODO, a neighborhood in Seattle that is part of the city’s industrial district and is south of downtown.

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He noted that even before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, a group of business owners “created a business improvement district” where “we basically tax ourselves and provide services that the city won’t do for us.”

“We’re buying extra police patrols in Seattle, we’re cleaning up, we’re cleaning up graffiti, we’re training needles to clean up to help businesses and protect ourselves as much as we can,” continued Biesold.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. However, on Tuesday she said the city was working on new ways to protect freedom of expression and holding protesters accountable for vandalism during the demonstrations.

“We will support those people who protest peacefully, but the people who are only after destruction and crime will not tolerate it at all,” said KOMO News, Durkan.

The media reported that her comments came in hours after graffiti was sprayed on walls and shop windows were broken during a police officer protest against the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright near Minneapolis.

Police officer Kim Potter, a 26-year-old Brooklyn Center Police Department veteran who quit her job two days after Wright’s death, was charged Wednesday with second degree manslaughter with her gun.

The incident has sparked four consecutive days of bitter conflict between protesters and police in Minnesota and sparked protests across the country.

Biesold emphasized on Thursday that the city guides in Seattle will not condone the vandalism, but “do nothing” to stop it.

He noted that the vandals “often don’t get caught and when they do they are out the next day and do it again”.

“And to add insult to the violation of the markings, if you don’t clean up your graffiti, you’ll get a message from the city that basically says, ‘Clean up or we will punish you,'” he added.

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Biesold noted that “the Seattle situation means there are a lot of companies packing and going,” adding that he had considered it himself – but pointed out that he was “not there yet”.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.