Timothy Tufts, a Marblehead, MA police officer has resigned after he allegedly scratched a swastika into the paint of another officer’s personal vehicle, officials said Wednesday.

Marblehead Police Chief Robert Picariello learned of the incident and placed Officer Timothy Tufts on administrative leave while investigating the incident, Picariello said in a statement.

Tufts joined the department in March 2016.

Picariello issued a statement - “I am dismayed and deeply disturbed by this incident. Today, there is no room for excuses of ignorance,” he said in the statement. “The swastika is a symbol of hate and genocide, and we must speak up against acts of hate and hate speech whenever and wherever we encounter it.”

Picariello will commission an independent administrative review and retain an outside investigator to “conduct a holistic finding of fact so that we can learn all of the facts of this incident and include it in our training programs,” the statement said.

The Marblehead Board of Selectmen issued a statement condemning the incident. “We were deeply disappointed to learn of this incident, which is both a direct contradiction of the spirit of inclusion we hold dear in our community, and a violation of the high standards to which we hold our law enforcement officers here in Marblehead,” the statement said.