SECURITY-WIDEFIELD, Colo. (KOAA) — Antisemitic symbols, racial slurs, and other offensive language have been scrawled across an electrical box in the Glen community in Security-Widefield for more than a month, and the utility company that owns it says no one ever reported it.
The box sits along a trail used by dozens of people each day. Residents say they have been disturbed by the graffiti since it first appeared, but have been unclear about who is responsible for cleaning it up.
One neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous because of the nature of the graffiti, said her husband was the first to notice the hate speech.
She said her first call was to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
"The first step I took was to call the El Paso County Sheriff's Department just because of the hate speech," she said.
The sheriff's office referred her to El Paso County Code Enforcement. However, code enforcement typically handles violations on private property, such as fence or home issues.
The electrical box is the property of Mountain View Electric, meaning the graffiti constitutes vandalism of utility property, and the responsibility for cleanup falls on the company.
After leaving a message with Mountain View Electric, I received a call back from the company.
A representative told me the vandalism had never been reported to them. I provided the address, and the company said it is sending a crew on Monday morning to address the graffiti.
Still, for many in the community, the damage goes beyond the physical.
"Our community members don't have to see it every single day," she said.
She said she hopes this is an isolated incident.
"I honestly hope that this isn't a normal occurrence throughout the city, that we're just a one-off," she said.
Mountain View Electric wishes to remind people that if you come across graffiti on an electric box, do not try to paint over it yourself.
The electric company says painting over graffiti often covers warning labels on the box.
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