SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A Santa Barbara business owner wants police to track down whoever stole an American flag outside his business.
The theft was caught on camera.
It happened outside the Santa Barbara sign store on State Street last weekend. Just a few days ago, the owner and his team moved into the former cardigan site on the 3000 block.
Employees were alerted to security cameras late Saturday night. The next day, they checked the video and saw footage of the man.
Nick Kvistad, senior designer at Santa Barbara Signs, said: “When he started tearing the American flag from our building, someone was definitely passing by and it didn’t look like they were homeless, it was definitely disgruntled or influenced by something. “
“Then, ripped the flag off the pole, walked for about 10 minutes and came back because he forgot his bike. Not that he hated the American flag, but because it was there, he took it away .”
At one point, the man can be seen walking out of the frame with the flag wrapped around his head.
“Our neighbours have mentioned that there is a lot of activity here at night and hopefully this will be resolved and the police will investigate,” Kvistad said.
The man also caused some damage to the area behind the business, Kvistad said.
The owner of the car reported the incident to police, hoping someone would recognize the man.