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Police Release Photo Of State Capitol Vandalism Suspect As Investigation Continues

The suspect was captured by a security camera inside the Capitol. Denver Police are asking anyone who can ID the man to call crime stoppers at 720-913-7867.
Denver Police Department
The suspect was captured by a security camera inside the Capitol. Denver Police are asking anyone who can ID the man to call crime stoppers at 720-913-7867.

Denver police have released a photo of the person suspected of damaging several bronze busts at the State Capitol late last month.

Police spokesman Jay Casillas said Monday investigators are still working to find him.

Investigators are asking anyone who can identify the person in the photo to call crime stoppers at 720-913-STOP.

The photo was taken from a security camera inside the Capitol at the time of the crime.

The vandalism occurred around 2:28 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 27. The damage at the Capitol was discovered after firefighters responded to a fire alarm in the building a few hours later.

The Colorado State Patrol oversees security at the Capitol, which was closed to the public at the time of the vandalism.

Last week, Capt. Daniel Haley told CBS Denver the suspect threw some of the busts over a second-floor railing. Video of the aftermath showed the sculptures of former lawmakers lying face down on the floor with some pieces broken off. Police also said marble pedestals were damaged and glass on a cabinet was smashed.

“There were busts from both Republicans and Democrats that were attacked,” Haley told CBS4. “It was very random. And there was no spray paint, no graffiti, no message left, and no real motive that would say why this crime actually occurred.”

The day after the damage was discovered, new ropes and signs marked the employee entrances and exits inside the Capitol, indicators of tightened security following the incident.

Casillas said police did not find any signs of forced entry.

Police still did not have an estimate on Monday on the cost of all the damage.

Capitol Coverage is a collaborative public policy reporting project, providing news and analysis to communities across Colorado for more than a decade. Eleven public radio stations participate in Capitol Coverage from throughout Colorado.

Copyright 2019 KUNC

Scott Franz is a government watchdog reporter and photographer from Steamboat Springs. He spent the last seven years covering politics and government for the Steamboat Pilot & Today, a daily newspaper in northwest Colorado. His reporting in Steamboat stopped a police station from being built in a city park, saved a historic barn from being destroyed and helped a small town pastor quickly find a kidney donor. His favorite workday in Steamboat was Tuesday, when he could spend many of his mornings skiing untracked powder and his evenings covering city council meetings. Scott received his journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is an outdoorsman who spends at least 20 nights a year in a tent. He spoke his first word, 'outside', as a toddler in Edmonds, Washington. Scott visits the Great Sand Dunes, his favorite Colorado backpacking destination, twice a year. Scott's reporting is part of Capitol Coverage, a collaborative public policy reporting project, providing news and analysis to communities across Colorado for more than a decade. Fifteen public radio stations participate in Capitol Coverage from throughout Colorado.
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