After working overtime, dressed in camouflage, to stake out the Riverwalk for the past three weeks, Columbus police officers have arrested three juveniles for spray-painting the old Highway 82 bridge.
Two 15-year-old girls and a 16-year-old boy were arrested late July 19 after they were caught spray-painting vulgarities on the concrete brace under the bridge. They were charged with malicious mischief.
Officers are hiding along the Riverwalk dressed in Ghille suits, camouflage clothing commonly used by military snipers, designed to make the wearer indistinguishable from bushes or other heavy foliage.
The city will install cameras at the bridge to prevent future vandalism, Chief Joseph St. John said. The number and location of the cameras will be decided by the end of the week.
Mayor Robert Smith said he first spotted graffiti spray-painted on the bridge while he was walking in the area the weekend before he met with St. John.
After receiving several other citizen complaints and meeting with the mayor July 12, St. John assigned officers to work overtime watching the bridge. About four officers per night have taken shifts surveilling the area since then, he said.
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