A former NYPD officer has been arrested after allegedly spray-painting anti-Semitic graffiti all over one Brooklyn neighborhood, including the front doors of an elementary school.
Former officer Michael Setiawan was arrested Sunday after swastikas and hate messages were found on 15 cars and four buildings in Borough Park. Most of the graffiti was in the vicinity of Dahill Road and 37th Street and 14th Avenue and 38th Street near a synagogue.
Setiawan, 36, was an officer with the NYPD for two years. According to police, he "separated with the department" in 2007.
He is being charged with criminal mischief and aggravated harassment, both as hate crimes, police say.
An image that NBC 4 New York obtained from a surveillance camera outside the elementary school shows a man spray-painting the front doors.
Police have not confirmed the man in the picture is Setiawan, so his face has been blurred in the image above.
Setiawan and his parents, who emigrated from Indonesia in 1989, share a home in Queens.
His father, Thomas Setiawan, told The Associated Press that the family did not know why Michael was no longer a police officer but said his son has had mental health issues and that he was depressed and suicidal after leaving the police force.
City Councilman David Greenfield said the community is shaken over the offensive graffiti.
"I had a parent who came to me who told me that his daughter who lives across the street and attends this school said that she's afraid to attend the school on Monday," Greenfield said.
Attorney information for Setiawan was not immediately available.
