WEST LINN, Ore. — The West Linn Police Department is investigating after a racial slur was painted on the front of a house facing a busy Sunset Avenue, which neighbors first saw on Christmas morning.
Multiple neighbors told KGW they believe the woman who lives at the house painted the slur herself and it's targeted at the Black family that lives next door.
West Linn Police Captain Oddis Rollins said the case is an open investigation that has "all the hallmarks of a bias incident," but police can't definitively say yet who wrote the slur or why it was painted.
"The community and other neighbors shouldn't have to take the brunt of this, it shouldn't be on us," said Andre Channel, a Black man who lives next to the home with the racial slur.
Channel said he's looking for some kind of solution.
"Something needs to be done, this person needs help," he said. "I’m not sure what’s going on, but it sounds to me like somebody is crying out for help and somebody needs to deal with it."
He said he was out of town on Christmas Day but a neighbor called him and warned him about the spray-painted slur, as they "didn't want (Channel) to come home to this."
"It wasn’t just the slur, it’s also that she called my son the slur, as he was one of the ones who called the police — and to his face she said, 'F*** you n-word,' and the police were right there," Channel said.
West Linn Police responded to calls about the incident on Christmas Day, and Captain Rollins said it was actually the police department that painted over the racial slur with spare green and yellow paint, although it's still somewhat legible.
Rollins said the department plans to return to paint over the slur more thoroughly once it stops raining, provided the homeowner keeps giving the police department permission.
"At this point, we have spoken to the owner of the residence and neighbors who have been impacted," WLPD said in a statement issued Tuesday night. "We also received consent from the owner of the residence to paint over the racist language, and have done so."
Channel said he and other neighbors have called the police multiple times over the past year to check on the woman who lives at the house next-door. He said they've heard screaming, seen her break the windows of her own house and learned other concerning information from responding officers.
Channel said officers have previously told him that his neighbor has a right to free speech and a right to do with her property what she wishes.
"This isn't the West Linn community, the West Linn community is very supportive. I coach sports there, I've made really good friends, I just feel like there is a disconnect between law enforcement and what needs to be done."
One West Linn neighbor told KGW that they feel frustrated and concerned about what could come next, although they declined to share their name out of fear of retribution from the homeowner of the house with the painted slur on its wall.
Captain Rollins said the Oregon Department of Justice has offered resources and support for the investigation, as the state runs a bias hotline and works with witnesses and victims.
However, Rollins said that if the investigation finds that a person spray-painted a racial slur on their own property, that could be more challenging for the Clackamas County District Attorney's office to prosecute. He said Oregon's bias crime statute is more clear on disruptions or damages to another person's property.
First, Rollins said investigators need to finish a "thorough" look at the incident and announce any findings. He said he could not provide an estimated timeline of how long the investigation would take, but said the department will give this incident the attention it deserves.
"Incidents such as this cause actual harm, both to those specifically targeted and the wider community at large," WLPD's statement said. "We stand firmly against hate and bigotry in all of its forms, and in solidarity with our community members."
"I'm not sure what they can do about it, but I feel something needs to be done," Channel told KGW.
While a KGW reporter and photographer were outside the West Linn home on Tuesday, multiple people walked out of the house.
A man told KGW reporter Evan Watson that he knows the woman who lives at the home and he asked if she would like to talk to KGW. After being asked, the woman quickly drove away.
West Linn police asked anyone with more information about the incident to call the agency's non-emergency dispatch number at (503) 635-0238. Support after a bias incident can be found at Oregon’s Bias Response Hotline, (844) 924-BIAS (2427), or by visiting StandAgainstHate.oregon.gov.