Painted Horse Defaced Outside Bridgeport Restaurant
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A painted horse that's part of a public art campaign intended to honor fallen police officers has been defaced in front of a Bridgeport restaurant.
The colorful life-sized horse stands in front of Fabulous Freddie's Italian eatery, at 31st and Union.
A tagger defaced the horse sometime this week, scrawling an illegible signature on its neck, WBBM's Mike Krauser reports.
"It's just a shame," said the restaurant's manager, Megan Zerelski. "This is supposed to be for the fallen police officers. They've worked for us and took care of us. This is how they pay their respects.
"It's terrible ... It's just unfortunate there are people out there who do stuff like this."
It is one of the Horses of Honor statues, created by artists, benefiting the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.
The artist who painted the horse, Erika Vazzana, who's not too pleased, herself, is planning to take care of the graffiti.
Zerelski suggested that if the person is caught, maybe they can be put to work for a day at the local district police station.
"I would like to see him understand and see how hard these guys work, the men and women that protect us and what they go out and they do for us every day and they just don't understand. They're young. I'm guessing, and it's a shame."