San Diego Planned Parenthood office is vandalized; group vows to stay open

Reporting from San Diego — San Diego police are trying to determine who threw red paint on the sign and windows of a Planned Parenthood office in Pacific Beach on Monday, the second such vandalism incident at the health center in six weeks.

Police received a call shortly after 2:45 a.m. about paint thrown at the office on Mission Bay Drive near Bunker Hill Street. The caller didn’t see the person throwing the paint, but reported seeing a gray hatchback driving away, said San Diego police Sgt. Tom Sullivan.

Planned Parenthood issued a statement Monday expressing “disappointment” at the vandalism, but said its work will continue despite the acts.

An earlier incident was reported at the same location in mid-February.

In that case, police said someone vandalized the office over a weekend — sometime between Feb. 10 and Feb. 12. An office manager found the splattered paint as she arrived for work.

“While we are disappointed by the recent vandalism to our health center, no attempt at intimidation will stop us from serving our patients,” the office’s statement said. “We’ve been a part of the fabric of this community for 55 years, and we’ll be here for many more to come. You can count on our doors staying open, no matter what.”

The office reopened for patients at 10 a.m., according to the statement.

Planned Parenthood clinics offer abortion services, birth control education, contraception, pregnancy testing and counseling and STD testing as well as other services.

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com

Kucher writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.