Latest theft of Pride flag in Norwich captured on video: OPP

Oxford County provincial police are investigating the theft of a Pride flag in Norwich Township.

OPP West Region posted a video on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that shows a man in a cowboy hat, long-sleeved shirt and jeans pulling down the flag at a property on Stover Street and running down the road into a slowly moving because that had the passenger door open.

It is the latest in a string of thefts of the rainbow-coloured flag – a symbol of the LGBTQ community – in the village 30 minutes south of Woodstock.

In June, thieves made off with Pride flags and signage at multiple spots in Norwich Township, a regional flashpoint for backlash to the symbol celebrating LGBTQ inclusion.

“The OPP is reminding the public that theft and vandalism are criminal acts and will not be tolerated,” police said in a statement at the time. “Any individual who engages in vandalism or theft may face a criminal charge.”

In 2022, several Pride banners and flags were stolen or vandalized in the rural township of 11,000. Oxford OPP charged a 16-year-old Norwich resident and Jake Dey, 47, with theft in the incidents. The charge against Dey was dropped in court earlier this year.

Dey went on to address the township’s council in a speech that compared the Pride symbol to something out of Nazi Germany.

A local politician who led a push to promote LGBTQ inclusion in Norwich Township quit after council colleagues gave final approval in May to a ban on non-government flags, including Pride flags, on municipal property.

Anyone with information about any of the latest incidents is asked to contact Oxford OPP at 1-888-310-1122.