Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - July 24, 2002
Richard Byrne Reilly, Of The Examiner Staff
Philip Atkinson, 21, faces hate crime charges and possession of stolen property. He was rousted from his bed at 8:30 a.m. in the home he shares with his parents in the Sunset. Atkinson admitted to the crimes, cops said.
Atkinson is believed by police to have vandalized the grove -- a memorial to people with AIDS -- with profanity-laced messages that read in part "kill fags."
One was aimed at Sgt. Charle Limbert, an openly gay officer formerly with the department's Graffiti Abatement Unit, cops said.
Limbert knows Atkinson well, having supervised him on numerous graffiti-removal details in The City over a number of years. Atkinson's rap sheet includes numerous offenses, Limbert said, including arrests for graffiti tagging and other crimes.
Catching Atkinson was easy, Limbert said.
"I got a call the day it happened. Someone told me exactly what the graffiti said, and I immediately said then, 'that's Phil Atkinson. Here's his address.'"
Atkinson was in a holding cell in San Francisco County Jail on Tuesday with bail set at $60,000. If convicted he could face several years in jail.
Limbert described Atkinson as a middle-class young man who has an unquenchable appetite for graffiti tagging and hanging with friends, fighting and drinking beer. Atkinson's mother hung up the phone when asked for comment.
Speculating on Atkinson's perceived hatred of gays, Limbert said he could be gay himself, using tagging as a means of releasing pent-up aggression and rage at confusion over his own sexual orientation.
"The kid needs to let go of the hate and anger he's carrying around. I mean, he's 21 years old and still tagging. He needs to get a life," Limbert said.
E-mail: rreilly@sfexaminer.com
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