Texas family arrested for painting own truck with racial message: police

By Lisa Maria Garza

DALLAS (Reuters) - A Texas family has been arrested for painting profanities and racially charged slogans on their pickup truck and falsely claiming others had done so, police said on Monday.

Scott Lattin, 45, was arrested last week, and his wife, Cindy, and their son Jason, 18, were taken into custody on Monday. All three are suspected of making a false police report, said police in Whitney, northwest of Waco.

Scott Lattin told officers his truck was tagged with "Black Lives Matter" and profanities earlier this month while it was parked in his driveway, police said. Lattin claimed the graffiti was in response to pro-police logos he had put on the vehicle, police said.

Whitney Police Chief Chris Bentley said Lattin's initial report stated only the outside of the truck was damaged, with no damage to the inside.

But Jason Lattin told TV broadcaster KDFW that the glove compartment was ripped out and the seats were slashed.

"I see a news media story and the video they showed on TV, ... (the) damage to the truck was different, so that took the investigation into a different direction," Bentley said.

A GoFundMe account set up to help the Lattin family repair the damages received nearly $6,000 in donations. Many donors saw the family as victims for their support of police, who have faced criticism after a series of incidents nationwide where officers have fatally shot unarmed black men.

Whitney police are working with the fund-raising site to return all the money to donors, Bentley said.

Felony charges are pending against the three suspects, police said. None of the family members were immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Lisa Maria Garza; Editing by Jon Herskovitz and Eric Beech)