TAMPA, Fla. — Three adults and one teenager have been arrested after police say they vandalized the "Back the Blue" mural in front of the Tampa Police Department.
Officers say they saw four people spray painting graffiti on the mural just before 11 p.m. Tuesday. Additional officers arrived on the scene and detained eight people.
While on the scene, detectives reviewed video and identified four of the detained people as the ones responsible for defacing the mural.
The four individuals were taken into custody. The three adults, identified as 19-year-old Emily Ann Gabaree, 20-year-old Alexander Thomas Drummond and 18-year-old Seth Michael Raigoza, were transported to booking. They do not have ties to Hillsborough County, officers say.
The fourth person was a juvenile from Tampa and was given a notice to appear and was released to their parent at the scene.
The mural was painted earlier this month to show support for the police department. It was vandalized the first time just days after it was painted.
Now, it has been defaced again. The words "pigs" and "BLM" were painted on the mural overnight.
The mural was not a project affiliated with the city of Tampa's mural program, and the city said it was "unfortunate" the proper process was not followed.
RELATED: 'Back the Blue' mural painted outside Tampa Police Department not properly permitted, mayor says
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