Page One
New: Arrest in Rainbow Flag Burning in Berkeley
Someone set fire to a rainbow flag and punched a volunteer outside the Pacific Center for Human Growth in Berkeley Friday, possibly a sign of political changes in the U.S., the center's executive director said Monday.
At about 11 a.m. one of the center's volunteers heard a ruckus outside the building at 2712 Telegraph Ave. The center offers social and mental health services and is the third oldest LGBTQ center in the U.S., executive director Leslie Ewing said.
The volunteer went outside and told the person to stop what they were doing, but the person punched the volunteer in the face. The volunteer was not seriously injured.
Ewing said other staff members heard the noise. Some of them went outside and one staff member took a photo of the suspect.
Based on the photo, police were able to make an arrest in less than half an hour after they arrived at the center.
The fire set to a rainbow flag was quickly extinguished by firefighters.
"Everyone's OK," Ewing said.
Nothing like this has happened ever before at the center and it was a shock to staff members and others, according to Ewing.
"It was a shock to our neighbors," she said.
But afterward neighbors brought cookies to the center and showed that they support it, which Ewing and others very much appreciated.
She said that this may be part of the changes that have occurred in Berkeley recently and around the nation since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. "People feel emboldened to do these things now," Ewing said, adding that the center's staff is strong. "We've been here 44 years and we're not going anywhere," Ewing said. 0555a10/24/17
CONTACT: Pacific Center executive director Leslie Ewing (510) 548-8283 ext 213 or press@pacificcenter.org
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Images related to this story can be obtained from the following Bay City News Service web links: www.baycitynews.com/images/102417BerkeleyCenter.jpg www.baycitynews.com/images/102417BerkeleyFlag.jpg
Copyright � 2017 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
/www/bcn/general/10/newsclip.17.10.24.05.56.01.1.txt
