Three suspects were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of stealing bronze plaques in the Harbor area.
Plaques at the Port of Los Angeles were stolen from the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial, the International Longshoreman and Warehouse Union Bloody Thursday Memorial along Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro, and the Japanese Fishing Village Memorial on Terminal Island, according to the Los Angeles Port Police.
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“The heartless theft of these plaques was an insult to the memories of families who built this region through the fishing industry, who moved goods as part of the ILWU, and who protected our country during the war as merchant marine sailors,” Los Angeles Councilman Tim McOsker said in a statement.
“It was an affront to our entire community, and today, the Harbor area and the great people who shaped our history and culture are on the path of justice.” Los Angeles Port Police Chief Tom Gazsi said. “This disturbing series of thefts has had a significant emotional toll on members of our community whose loved ones were memorialized both in the maritime and fishing industry.”
Gazsi said additional evidence linked the suspects to thefts of grave markers at cemeteries in the region.
“Some of these memorial plaques that date back more than a century,” Gazsi said. “These dear souls shall never be forgotten.”
The arrests were made during a traffic stop in Southwest Los Angeles, Gazsi said.
The suspects’ names were not released.
Anyone with information regarding the thefts was urged to call Los Angeles Port Police detectives at 310-732-3500.