Newly released surveillance footage shows the moment a vandal throws silver paint on a George Floyd statue at a Manhattan park before ...
Newly released surveillance footage shows the moment a vandal throws silver paint on a George Floyd statue at a Manhattan park before making his getaway on a skateboard.
The footage begins with a man, wearing a dark green jacket, a neon green T-shirt, black shorts, black and white sneakers and a black beanie walking along Union Square carrying his skateboard in one hand.
He later ducks behind a nearby statue of the late Rep. John Lewis and is seen grabbing something from his green backpack before he gets on his skateboard and hurls silver paint at the George Floyd bust before riding off, heading north on the west side of the park at around 10.15am on Sunday.
Surveillance footage released by the New York Police Department early Monday morning shows a man, wearing a dark green jacket, a neon green T-shirt, black shorts, black and white sneakers and a black beanie walking along Union Square Park carrying his skateboard
He later ducks behind a statue of the late Rep. John Lewis and is seen grabbing something from his backpack
The suspect then gets on his skateboard and sprays silver paint at the George Floyd memorial
Two people - apparently a woman and a child - were trying to take a picture of the statue at the time of the vandalism
Two people - apparently a woman and a child - were standing nearby when the vandalism occurred.
The New York Police Department released the footage as part of its investigation early Monday morning, and is now offering a $3,500 reward for any information about the suspect, who is described as a male with a light complexion and a medium build.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 577 - TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.
On Twitter, a video was posted showing silver paint splattered on the statue, with New York 1 reporting that volunteers went to a Blick store to repair the statue after the vandalism.
One of the volunteers was a painter, the Washington Post reports, who knew which materials would work best to restore the statue.
'They went to the hardware [store] and bought supplies out of their pockets,' Confront Art co-founder Andrew Cohen, who helped design the bust, told CNN.
'This is inspiring teamwork and support from the community.'
The memorial in honor of the late George Floyd was vandalized by a skateboarder in Manhattan, who authorities said doused the statue in silver paint over the weekend
The George Floyd bust opened to the public on Friday, after first being unveiled on Juneteenth in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Less than a week later, it was defaced with black paint and the message 'Patriot Front' - a white nationalist hate group.
'It's incredibly disappointing how the statues were defaced in such a short amount of time,' Floyd's brother, Terrence, said in a joint statement with the nonprofit We are Floyd Foundation on Sunday, 'and it just goes to show you how far we still have to go to reach our goal of unity.'
Chris Carnabuci, the artist who made the sculpture, along with ones of the late Rep. John Lewis and Breonna Taylor, said in a statement on Sunday that while the vandalism was not a complete surprise 'It is upsetting to us all.'
He said he created the #SeeInjustice exhibit at Union Square Park to inspire civil discourse and provide a space where different opinions could be heard. It will be on display until October 30.
'Vandalism of any sort is not an action that is productive or meaningful,' Carnabuci, 57, said. 'Actions like this remind us that we have a long way to go, and we will never stop fighting.'
Carnabuci previously told the New York Times he decided to create the statues because he felt 'hopeless' while watching the protests against police brutality unfold in the wake of George Floyd's death last year, and his wife encouraged him to express his sorrow with art.
'We actually started thinking about making an exhibition and bringing the pieces around to sort of keep the awareness up,' he said, 'and even raise some money for foundations that are geared toward those in need.'
He worked with Andrew Cohen and Lindsay Eshelman, founders of Confront Art, an organization that aims to connect artists with social justice causes to create public art. They designed the statues so that if someone tried to deface them, they would be easy to restore.
Police said Lewis' and Breonna Taylor's statues were left unharmed in the vandalism.
Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after Minneapolis Police officer, Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd, 46, lay face-down crying: 'I can't breathe'
Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after Minneapolis Police officer, Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd, 46, lay face-down crying: 'I can't breathe.'
Video of the incident went viral, and soon protests against police brutality spread throughout the United States, lasting for months, turning violent at times.
Chauvin was fired by the Minneapolis Police Department in the aftermath and was soon arrested.
He was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
On June 25, 2021, Chauvin received a sentence of 22 and a half years in prison, with the possibility of supervised relief, contingent on good behavior after serving two-thirds of his sentence or 15 years for second-degree murder.
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