Hey, there! Log in / Register

Quincy man arrested as Charles River bridge tagger

Boston Police report arresting a Quincy man after they say an officer watched him spray graffiti on two sections of the Grand Junction railroad bridge - and say he's also wanted for defacing the Longfellow Bridge.

Police say an officer on patrol spotted a guy sitting on the bridge - which crosses under the BU Bridge - around 4:30 p.m. yesterday:

The officer continued to observe the male to ensure that he would not fall into the water and to determine if he was a “tagger.” The officer then observed the male begin to spray paint the railroad tracks before walking further down the tracks to spray paint a second section. The suspect then walked off the tracks toward a path next to Storrow Drive. The officer immediately noticed that the suspect had sprayed a tag on the bridge. The officer was aware that the tagger of this symbol was the subject of an investigation by a Boston Police detective for a similar tag on the newly renovated Longfellow Bridge.

Brett Cullen, 22, was charged with two counts of felony tagging, police say.

His arrest comes about a week after BPD detectives nabbed Marc "CIGA" Meadowcroft in East Boston, wanted for tagging up both MBTA and private property in the Boston area.

Innocent, etc.

Neighborhoods: 
Topics: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

See, if we'd left the Long Island bridge up, Quincy residents could just have stayed at home to vandalize public infrastructure.

up
Voting closed 0

From Braintree to the portal at Andrew the walls along the red line are covered with murals some of which would have needed ladders to complete. The red line bridge from North Quincy over the Neponset river gets tagged weekly by daredevils who are risking their lives for cheap thrills.

up
Voting closed 0

One would assume that the bigger issue is that he tagged the newly renovated Longfellow, right? The uh.. Grand Junction Railroad Bridge is almost an unofficial Graffiti Alley.

up
Voting closed 1

Go over the BU Bridge in the afternoon and look over the side. Half the time you can see people walking across the RR bridge with paint. No one tries to hide it.

up
Voting closed 0

#nobail

up
Voting closed 0

Kudos to the cops for busting some of these guys. It must be hard to catch vandals in progress, but it is important police work if you want to live in a beautiful city. Thank you BPD.

cue contrarian troll comments now

up
Voting closed 0

Photography, drawings of the artwork please!...

up
Voting closed 0

It was a tag.

up
Voting closed 0

Displaying the results of these crimes for all to see isn't a punishment for the accused...it's an accomplishment. The hell if he's put in jail...his badge of honor will be the distribution of his "work" on defaced bridges.

If you want to see it that badly, (assuming it's not already cleaned off) get off the computer & see for yourself.

up
Voting closed 0

Make available a gargantuan public wall/canvas and opportunity for an art school program.

up
Voting closed 0

Why not build a replacement homeless shelter in, say, Brookline or Newton? Both places are just as centrally located as Boston or Quincy. Quincy is primarily a 'working class' city. Many people live there because it's still fairly affordable compared to Boston (the non-dangerous neighborhoods), and certainly more affordable compared to Cambridge, Brookline, Somerville. I don't think Brookline does it's fair share to help deal with this metro wide problem.

up
Voting closed 0

How did we get from felonious taggers to homeless shelters? And for that matter, Boston wants to build the shelter / treatment center on Long Island, which is part of the City of Boston, not Quincy.

up
Voting closed 0

Pay attention to what's going on locally and you'll figure it out.

up
Voting closed 0

He is everywhere. I have seen his work in Boston, on the sound barrier in Andover next to I93 and all the way up to Portsmouth NH on highway overpasses. Its just annoying to see this crap on every flat surface in the state and others.

Every town needs a rapid removal crew. Their job should be to remove all graffiti as soon as it happens. Don't give these a-holes the satisfaction of seeing their hard work last longer than 5 minutes.

up
Voting closed 0

Tag the tagger with tattoos of their signature tags on each cheek and the backs of each hand. They'll enjoy seeing that tag looking back at them forever in the mirror.

up
Voting closed 0

but would likely prevent these knuckleheads from getting jobs. Then again, perhaps they have no interest in ever getting a job to begin with.

up
Voting closed 0

Great job, officer.

To the residents and government of Quincy: how dare you let your vandals cross the border into our beautiful city. The disruption of our city is clearly and entirely your fault.

up
Voting closed 0

Yeah! We need a wall, and Quincy needs to pay for it!

Okay, but now that I am thinking that through a little further, that wall would be an awesome spot for tagging. . .

up
Voting closed 0

The subjects are free to do as they will.

up
Voting closed 0

So this is the perp who defaced the pristine granite along the Longfellow Bridge. Such disrespect for all of us, especially the workmen who planned and constructed the new bridge. And for what? Now an institutional gray layer of prison paint covers his ugly, grotesque swirls.

There's a Brett The Lawyer Cullen FB page listing Mass College of Art as his school. Hope there's a zero tolerance policy there for students defacing public property, and that he actually will learn from his first tat: "What goes around comes around" (See, FB photos)

up
Voting closed 0

One of the best parts of the felony graffiti law is the opportunity for police to issue a traffic citation that either revokes the suspect's driver's license or delays eligibility to drive if a youngster. God Bless Retired MBTA Police Lt. Nancy O'Loughlin, an expert in graffiti and tagging. She brought forward many great ideas ahead of her time and taught local cops and troopers. It was fun to write a citation to a graffiti artist who would joke "but I wasn't driving a car when I tagged that building." It doesn't matter. The law is meant to discourage. I hope BPD doesn't run out of ink or citations on this case.

up
Voting closed 0

Most of these twerps take the T

Got news for ya: kids aren't getting their driving licenses anyway. How is this a deterrent?

Besides, MA won't even revoke licenses for drinking or killing people on the roads - this is silly.

up
Voting closed 0

even though she's retired from the MBTA.

up
Voting closed 0

But I would wager that there is no way police can issue a traffic citation that revokes vandals drivers license. For that matter the fare evasion laws state that any violator that refuses to pay their fine will have their license suspended. I would wager a can of krylon that no fare evader or graffiti vandal has ever had their drivers license suspended.

up
Voting closed 0

challenge this inappropriate and legally questionable practice of tying drivers licenses and registrations to crimes that are totally unrelated to driving a vehicle. Textbook example of government overreach, bordering on gross abuse of power.

up
Voting closed 0

that bridge is already a piece of crap that is all tagged up.

up
Voting closed 0

One more step towards a whitewashed and sanitized Boston.

up
Voting closed 0

It's like I always say, the Longfellow Bridge would look a heck of a lot nicer if it were covered with bubble letters poorly drawn.

up
Voting closed 0

What does "54M5" mean?... graffiti on the top of the East side of the Cafe Nero Building in Central Square Cambridge Massachusetts North side of Massachusetts Avenue between Norfolk St and Essex Street, view from Artist & Craftsman Supply Store across the street at
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Central+Square/@42.364796,-71.1026508,3a,75y,24.07h,119.99t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sxmXcqBs6cmX5OVIgSK4jfQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x1aece55b94e2cb41!8m2!3d42.3650455!4d-71.1025628

google. com/maps/place/Central+Square/@42.364796,-71.1026508,3a,75y,24.07h,119.99t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sxmXcqBs6cmX5OVIgSK4jfQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x1aece55b94e2cb41!8m2!3d42.3650455!4d-71.1025628

up
Voting closed 0

SAMS?

up
Voting closed 0

It's actually the nom-de-plume of another graffiti writer, and says "SYMS". Just stylized in such a way that it's easy to confuse.

up
Voting closed 0

The guy at Blick Art Materials, Central Square Cambridge, North side of Massachusetts Avenue between Essex Street and Prospect St.? https://www.dickblick.com/stores/massachusetts/cambridge/ he gives incredible tours of Central Square Graffiti ! And gives tours of other Graffiti around the Boston metropolitan area. A brilliant art historian!

up
Voting closed 0

and not the State Police? I figured they had jurisdiction over all the bridges, Storrow/Memorial, etc?

up
Voting closed 0

If a Boston cop sees an illegal act going on within the city limits, he has the authority to arrest the alleged ne'er-do-well.

Similar case for car crashes on the parkways in West Roxbury and Dorchester. If a Boston cop sees a crash, he's going to respond (and, once the situation's in hand, ask the dispatcher to call State Police).

up
Voting closed 0

No fate in what "they" create. I love it keep vandalizing this korny ass citys buildings. This city is disgusting now..there's actually a mission hill yoga LMAO!!!! Bostons gone!!! Baby gone!!

up
Voting closed 0

Like Cleveland or Detroit.

Go right ahead!

up
Voting closed 0