Clinton Township woman arrested, accused of spray-painting swastika graffiti

Farmington Hills Police have arrested a Clinton Township woman suspected of spray-painting a swastika on the Woodward Avenue Shul in Royal Oak last week.

The 35-year-old woman was taken into custody late Monday night without incident.

Royal Oak Police detectives worked with the Jewish Community Security, the FBI and Farmington Hills police to identify the suspect. They plan to present criminal charges after review by the Oakland County Prosecutors Office, the Royal Oak Police Department announced in a news release on Tuesday. A suspect typically isn't identified until he or she is formally charged in court before a judge or magistrate.

"The swift apprehension of the suspect is a perfect example of how our relationships with the community and collaboration with our law enforcement partners bring incidents like these to a close," Royal Oak Police Chief Michael Moore said in the news release. "I’m proud of our continued partnership with the Jewish Community Security and the tireless efforts of our detectives and law enforcement partners who were critical to this investigation."

A swastika symbol and the letters AZOV were spray-painted on the side of the Shul, a Jewish community center, on April 27. The graffiti has since been removed but the community was shaken, Rabbi Mendel Polter told The News on Monday. The word "azov" means leave in Hebrew but the letters are also linked to a pro-Nazi Ukrainian militia.

Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter called the vandalism "deeply disturbing and unacceptable" in a statement on Tuesday.

"We all have a responsibility to denounce hatred when we see it, and I am confident that residents from across Oakland County will join me in denouncing anti-Semitism and in rejecting it in all its forms in our communities," Coulter said in the statement. "Thank you to the staff at the City of Royal Oak for quickly removing the graffiti prior to Shabbat."