VIRGINIA BEACH — Ever wonder what in the @?#!! happened to those old “no-cursing” signs at the Oceanfront?
They’ve been sitting in storage since the city took them down in 2019. Now, the Virginia Beach Police Foundation wants to sell the signs to raise money for police-related charitable programs.
Mayor Bobby Dyer got the green light Tuesday from his city council colleagues to donate them to the foundation.
“We intend to use them in some fashion as a fundraiser,” said former police chief Jake Jacocks, who serves as the foundation’s president. “I think there will be a lot of people who will be interested in having them.”
The foundation’s board of directors will meet in July to come up with a plan to possibly hold an auction or raffle up to 30 signs later this year, he said.
The signs feature a red circle with a diagonal line slicing through a series of symbols — @?#!!. They were displayed in the resort area for more than two decades beginning in the early 1990s.
Jacocks became chief in 2000 but had previously worked as captain of the Oceanfront’s Second Precinct and in special operations when the signs debuted. Police officers at that time were dealing with rowdy crowds after last call in “The Block” — home to a string of bars on Atlantic Avenue.
The police department, resort management office and city officials came up with the sign idea and other measures to tame the masses.
“They were part of our efforts to help control behavior down there,” Jacocks said.
Bright lights and classical music over loudspeakers also were used at closing time.
“That caused the sidewalks to get empty pretty quick,” Jacocks said.
But the anti-profanity emblem drew the most attention, generating conversation between officers and people walking on Atlantic Avenue and questions about free speech. Passersby wanted to know if “no cursing” could actually be enforced. Officers treated it more like a request in line with Virginia Beach’s “family atmosphere,” said the former chief.
The signs came down in 2019 as preparations for the Something in the Water music festival were underway. Resort-area stakeholders wanted to project a more welcoming atmosphere at the beach.
Swearing in public was a crime in Virginia until 2020 when state legislature repealed the 1792 law. However, cursing in Virginia Beach remains a Class 3 misdemeanor if someone is offended by the language. The penalty for a citation is $250 per incident.
Jacocks hopes the sale of the unique signs will help the foundation continue its philanthropy, which includes raising money for K-9 ballistic resistance vests, helping maintain the police memorial on 35th Street and financially assisting law enforcement personnel who face a family crisis.
He expects police officers and bar owners will be among those interested in bidding on the signs.
“And maybe a few parents who have teenagers,” he said.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
