Long Beach city flag replaced with Trump political flag at police headquarters

A City of Long Beach flag was reportedly stolen from a secure construction area outside police headquarters and replaced with a campaign flag for President Trump.

Someone gained access to a secured construction area of the Long Beach Police Department, removed a city flag from a flagpole, hoisted aloft a "political flag" and then padlocked the pole so the flag was difficult to remove, police said in a tweet. The flag was noticed on Sunday morning,

Video taken by a bystander and local media reports revealed that a flag supporting Trump was atop one of the flagpoles at the site.

Police used bolt cutters to remove the flag and a criminal investigation has been initiated, the department said.

The flagpole is accessible from a small, secured parking lot that houses a construction trailer, police said. Access to the area is limited to only construction workers due to the ongoing construction of a parking lot at police headquarters.

"The LBPD is an apolitical organization and does not participate in any political activity that promotes one political party over another," the department said in its statement. "Flags or images depicting political activity are not authorized or endorsed by the LBPD."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.