This is the second time the Floyd sculpture has been defaced
A new sculpture of the late George Floyd in Union Square, New York City, has been vandalized less than a week after it was unveiled.
Blue paint was thrown on the bust of George Floyd at around 10 am on Sunday (October 3), reports NBC. Police officials say that the criminal mixed the paint behind the statue before defacing it and running away.
This is not the first time the statue has been defaced. Having previously been unveiled in Brooklyn on Juneteenth (June 19), the bust was defaced less than a week later, on June 24, when white supremacist logos were painted across it.
“I heard the news about the vandalism. I was so proud that I got word that Flatbush held it down. They really supported us, looked out for the statue, looked out for the spirit of my brother,” Floyd’s sibling Terrence said at the time.
“You try to stop us, but you can’t stop us. And we’re still going to continue, with love.”
The murder of George Floyd at the hands of former police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25 2020 sparked a revolution across the globe. Floyd’s last words, “I can’t breathe”, were used as a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement that dominated headlines for months after his murder.
On June 25, Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter. The trial of the other three officers who were at the scene of the crime is expected to begin in March next year.
Though Chauvin’s case would usually result in 10-15 years in prison, Judge Peter Cahill has said that special circumstances such as Chauvin’s authority and the presence of children called for more serious jail time.
Related links:
- Derek Chauvin makes cryptic statement to Floyd family ahead of sentencing
- Derek Chauvin’s mother fears she will be dead before he gets out of prison
- Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22-and-a-half years over killing of George Floyd
