North Shore police memorial vandalized

A memorial to law enforcement officers near Heinz Field was vandalized.

A profane anti-police message was spray painted in yellow on the Allegheny County Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on North Shore Drive, according to Pittsburgh police. The vandalism was on the part of the memorial facing the Allegheny River.

The memorial pays tribute to law enforcement officers from Allegheny County who died in the line of duty. It includes the names of officers who served in Allegheny County and who grew up in the county but died elsewhere, according to a Facebook page for the memorial.

First finished and dedicated in Clemente Park in 1996, the memorial was dismantled and placed in storage in 2000 for the construction of Heinz Field and the Gateway Clipper dock and rededicated at its current location in 2003.

Memorial President Donna Best, a surviving spouse of an officer who died in the line of duty, said she was saddened by “the total disrespect for our memorial to our fallen heroes.”

“At this time in our country and the entire world when we are facing a pandemic and should be coming together to help and support all of our brothers and sisters no matter who they are, it incenses me that anyone would be so cold-hearted as to deface a memorial to the dead,” she said.

Officers responded to reports of the vandalism around 6 p.m. Sunday. It was not known exactly when the vandalism occurred.

Police said there were no suspects. Officers will review any available surveillance footage.

The memorial was cleaned by Monday.

“I want to thank Chief Schubert and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for their diligence in the investigation of this crime,” Best said. “I also want to thank Pittsburgh public works for the swift and very efficient cleaning of the graffiti placed on our memorial wall.”