Providence City Councilmans property vandalized, This was not a political statement adherent to the spirit of our first amendment – The Providence…

PROVIDENCE - John Igliozzi, a Providence City Councilman representing Ward 7, said in a statement that his property was tagged with graffiti and spikes were placed in the tires of his and his sons car over the weekend by vandals demanding that he work to defund and abolish the Providence Police Department.

"This was not a political statement adherent to the spirit of our first amendment," Igliozzi said in the statement. "This was an act of intimidation and censure by threat."

Igliozzi, who represents Hartford and Silver Lake and serves as chairman of the councils Committee on Finance has been helping to lead conversations around establishing an emergency social services response unit in the city and has also advocated for the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights to be repealed.

Discussions around redirecting parts of the police budget and exploring alternatives to traditional policing have ramped up since about 250 constituents testified before the council in support of defunding or abolishing the police during a nine-hour hearing in June.

"I know the vandals that committed these acts are not representative of the community who has come before the City Council and asked for reform from the police department," the statement says. "I will continue to listen and learn from these and other members of our community, and work to help initiate positive reforms that will continue to make the Providence Police Department the best department in the nation."

In a joint statement, other members of the Providence City Council condemned the vandalism at Igliozzis home.

"It's okay to disagree and to let that dissent be heard at an appropriate forum," says the statement issued by City Council members Sabina Matos, Michael Correia, Jo-Ann Ryan, Nicholas Narducci, Mary Kay Harris, Carmen Castillo, James Taylor, Katherine Kerwin, Pedro Espinal, and John Goncalves. "Vandalizing the home and tormenting the family of an elected official, or anyone else for that matter, is crossing the line and will not be tolerated. We stand with Chairman Igliozzi and will continue to work with all stakeholders to find solutions and condemn intimidation and coercion in all its forms. We know that these are not the values our city and neighbors uphold."

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Providence City Councilmans property vandalized, This was not a political statement adherent to the spirit of our first amendment - The Providence...