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Bottle-Throwing Incident Resolved, Says Manhattan Beach City Councilmember

Apr 04, 2021 10:28PM ● By Jeanne Fratello
Manhattan Beach City Councilmember Joe Franklin, whose house was the target of a bottle-throwing incident earlier this week, said on Sunday that the vandal has come forward and confessed. Franklin said that he and his wife have decided to forgive the individual and not press charges.

In a statement, Franklin emphasized that the bottle-throwing was neither personal nor political. His words put an end to several days of frenzied speculation around town that the incident was politically motivated..

Franklin gave the following statement to DigMB and also posted it to his Facebook page:

"Late yesterday, a person confessed to throwing a beer bottle through our front window, Thursday, April 1. They assured us this was not personal nor was it related to my position on City Council. They were contrite and have insisted on paying the damages.

"The actions surrounding this are those to which any family with teenagers or young adults can relate. We understand, empathize and feel fortunate to be able to forgive this person and move on.

"What they did was foolish and caused concern, but we appreciated their coming forward to take responsibility. We have notified the Manhattan Beach Police Department and will not be pressing charges.  

"Thank you all for your outpouring of support and concern. I’m sure you will all understand, that out of respect for privacy for this person and their family, we will not be providing any further information."

DigMB had reached out to Franklin after the incident and at the time he said he wanted to wait for police to finish their investigation. In several online forums, Franklin had similarly urged residents to wait for the investigation and not to speculate as to a motivation. 

Yet for days, rumors had run rampant on social media that the bottle-throwing incident was politically motivated.

On Tuesday, April 6, Manhattan Beach City Council is set to debate the hot-button issue of whether the city should issue a formal apology for the Bruce's Beach situation. 

Franklin said at the March 16 City Council meeting that he opposes such an apology. He has since put forward a proposed "Statement of Acknowledgement and Condemnation," which will be one of the documents to be discussed on Tuesday night.



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