Sapulpa police arrest 19-year-old accused of vandalizing city parks with graffiti

Sapulpa police have arrested a 19-year-old man who is suspected of causing thousands of dollars in damage to two parks and possibly a third over the weekend.

The city has closed Liberty Park, Heritage Park and Davis Park while emergency crews remove graffiti containing racist and vulgar words and symbols. Police have arrested Brandon Arnold, who allegedly confessed to the devastation in two of the parks.

Carson Lynch, director of the City of Sapulpa Parks Department, says half of the playgrounds in the city are closed because of this graffiti. He says much of the graffiti is on the rubber safety surface, which is difficult to clean, so the city may end up having to replace it all.

Sapulpa city workers have spent the last few days cleaning up the mess.

“They got both the plastic and the metal, which are easier to remove graffiti from, but the majority of it was on the rubber safety surface and it looks like we're going to have to cover it up now and then replace the rubber safety surface,” Lynch said.

According to the police report, during the investigation, someone gave a tip saying they thought they knew the perpetrator. This led police to Brandon Arnold.

“When they approached the man and started talking to him, he immediately confessed to the crime,” said Captain Troy Foreman.

Police say they have linked Arnold to the vandalism at Liberty Park and Heritage Park and believe he may have caused damage at Davis Park as well because similar spray paint was used. They say it is unbearable to see this kind of hate in their small town.

“It's 2024 and you see what people say about things that have been spray painted. But more than that, this is a playground, children go there, innocent children, and now they can't go to the playground and play there because it's cordoned off. We have to try to clean that stuff up,” Foreman said.

The parks are expected to remain closed for a few days.

“We won’t open the parks until we can cover up everything a child shouldn’t read,” Lynch said.

Police say they are also looking for other people who may have been involved. If you have any information, call Sapulpa police.