Vandalism hits Pierce County veterans memorial, plaques stolen at local cemetery
Police are investigating after someone vandalized veteran plaques at Sumner Cemetery.
The cemetery – which is located at 12324 Valley Ave. E. and is owned by the City of Sumner – has several missing and damaged plaques. Carmen Palmer, spokesperson for the City of Sumner, told The News Tribune that the Sumner Police Department believes the vandalism happened on Saturday, Nov. 29.
“We are missing the bronze plaques on our Veterans Memorial, which would be upsetting at any point but especially so soon after Veterans Day. For those plaques, we’re already working with [Veterans Affairs] to get replacements and the VA is paying for those replacements,” Palmer wrote in an email to The News Tribune. “We also found two damaged plaques and 11 missing plaques as well as two plaques that had been on our mausoleums that are missing plus a damaged vent.”
Palmer said the city is working to increase security measures around the cemetery. When The News Tribune asked what specific security measures they are considering, Palmer said they are considering all of their options, including gates, lights and cameras.
“The challenge is that grief does not have a set timeframe, so it’s important to give people access when they need it to the space for legitimate reasons,” Palmer wrote in an email to The News Tribune. “How do we balance increasing security without impacting access too much? I don’t have specifics, but we’re working through the pros/cons of what we can do as fast as possible.”
The city first learned about the vandalism when a family member visited on Thanksgiving and returned on Sunday to “find that their loved one’s plaque was damaged.”
“We have been working directly with the affected families and know how devastating this senseless act is to the loved ones of those plaques affected. It is NOT just a piece of metal to them,” Palmer wrote in an email to The News Tribune. “Part of the challenge with this is contacting all the families. For some, all we have is a mailing address and a few of those are rather old. We sent letters right away and continue to search for ways to contact families in other ways.”
Palmer said that anyone who has information about this incident is encouraged to leave a voicemail at SPD’s tip line at 253-299-5678.
“If there are family we have not been able to reach yet via mail who are reading this, please reach out to our Cemetery office at 253-299-5510,” Palmer wrote. “Again, not all plaques were affected, thankfully, and those affected are all being replaced.”
