Over the weekend, the new George Floyd statue that was installed in New York City’s Union Square Park was vandalized, and authorities have now released surveillance footage of the culprit responsible for vandalizing the art piece.
On Monday, the New York Police Department released surveillance footage that showed someone riding past the statue on a skateboard and throwing paint on it in broad daylight. According to Pix11, authorities are describing the suspect as a man with a “medium build, last seen wearing a black hat, dark green jacket, a neon green T-shirt, black shorts, black and white sneakers, and a green backpack.”
They are asking if anyone has information on the suspect’s whereabouts to contact their Crime Stoppers line because what the suspect did has been deemed a hate crime. At the moment, they have their Hate Crime Task Force investigating the incident.
On 10/3/21, at approx. 10:15 AM, in Union Square Park, a person on a skateboard threw gray paint on the face and base of a statue of George Floyd. Info? DM @NYPDTips or ☎️ 1-800-577-TIPS.
@NYPDShea @NYPDDetectives @NYPDPBMS @NYPD13Pct @NYCParks @mayorsCAU pic.twitter.com/PxNQs1u6mw
— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) October 4, 2021
As we previously reported, the statue was a part of an art installation that not only honored George Floyd, but John Lewis and Breonna Taylor as well, and the piece is entitled “SeeInJustice.”
As mentioned before, we spoke with an artist who works for Confront Art, which is the organization in charge of the exhibition. An artist by the name of Denny shared that it wasn’t the first time that the statue was vandalized, and it first happened in Brookly earlier this year.
The installation of the piece at Union Square Park was only temporary and was scheduled to close on October 30th, with plans to have it installed in other cities before being auctioned off to benefit charities associated with George Floyd, John Lewis, and Breonna Taylor.
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TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94