Grieving Father Ignores Graffiti Law

Waterloo,IA,USA

A Cedar Rapids crash victim's father is trying to keep a memorial for his son alive, but the Cedar Rapids Police Department says the memorial is graffiti, and illegal.

Douglas Stewart can't put into words how much he misses his son, Jeff. Instead, he spray painted his feelings in this memorial on the street. Police say seventeen year old Jeffry Stewart was driving too fast and crashed his car into a pole on Ellis Boulevard in Cedar Rapids on Friday. The memorial is Stewart's way of grieving, but police say it's illegal. Sergeant Cristy Hamblin says, "whenever you mark property that's not yours, whether it's a sign or it's in the middle of the street, it's called graffiti."

Police gave Stewart a ticket. He could face a fine of one-hundred dollars. Stewart says, "even if they remove it or whatever, I'm still going to paint it there. It don't matter how many cans of spray paint they take from me or how many tickets they write me." Stewart's friend, Lucille Howe says, "I think it's terrible that they give his father a ticket. There's nothing bad, it's all good and it's all love and it's something that will go away when it rains."

Friends and family also put up a roadside memorial, which is permitted in Cedar Rapids. But police are afraid the memorial and graffiti could cause another accident. Hamblin says, "number one, our fear is for the safety of those who are doing the painting and then for the other people who are passing by. If they are looking at that and they aren't watching what's going on around them."

Friends and family say if nothing else, the roadside memorial will help prevent accidents because it will make people think. Howe says, "this way they'll think, we won't be doing this, because this could happen to us."

Cedar Rapids police say they understand the purpose of the memorials, but the graffiti is against the law. Right now it's not clear who will have to pay to clean up the spray paint.