Police investigating after ‘hangman’s noose’ found at Amazon distribution centre construction site

Connecticut’s NAACP chapter has called these incidents ‘terrorist acts’ that should not be taken lightly

Police are investigating a hangman’s noose — and six other ropes that could be interpreted as nooses — found inside an Amazon distribution centre construction site in Windsor, Connecticut.

On Tuesday, police were called to the Amazon site where they said they found a noose hanging from a steel beam on the second floor of the building on Kennedy Road.

A construction supervisor told the police that the site safety team documented the incident, studied and then discarded them. Police said that the area where the noose was found is not monitored by surveillance cameras and is accessible by hundreds of employees.

On Wednesday police were again called as workers had found another rope thrown around a beam inside the building. Even though it wasn’t exactly a noose, the incident raised suspicion.

And yet again on Thursday, police were called back as five more ropes that the police said could be interpreted as nooses were found at several places inside the building.

In a statement released to the media, police said that: “The general contractor of the construction site has been proactive in addressing these incidents and is cooperating fully with law enforcement.” They had held a safety meeting inside the premises to discuss the Tuesday incident. “They also conducted an anti-discrimination / discrimination awareness training session with all employees on-site,” the police said.

A reward of $5,000 has been offered to anyone who comes forward with any information regarding these incidents. The general contractor of the Windsor site has also promised a reward for anyone who would identify the person responsible for these incidents.

On Wednesday, Amazon released a statement saying: “Amazon does not tolerate any behaviour deemed hateful, racist, or discriminatory.”

Scot X Esdaile, president of the Connecticut NAACP [National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People] said: “It’s a shame that this is happening at the Amazon headquarters in Windsor. The NAACP and many other civil rights organisations fought for hate crimes to be on the books, and we want to make sure that these individuals are held accountable.”

Police Captain Andrew Power told FOX61 News: “We don’t tolerate that. Certainly not today, certainly not today. We want to find out who did it and the motivation behind it.” Power added: “Seven incidents we believe are connected, that’s part of our investigation.” He said the ropes from these incidents would be tested to identify a potential suspect.

Mr Esdaile suggested the incidents are part of a backlash over recent events of national prominence, “including the conviction of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd.” He told the CTPost: “They’re really terrorist acts, they should not be taken lightly.”