Sculptor Vows To Rebuild After Vandalized Breonna Taylor Bust In Oakland Goes Missing
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A bust of Breonna Taylor, severely damaged over the weekend in an attack that outraged the community, was attacked again and now missing, according to the sculptor.
The bust, installed two weeks ago near City Hall by sculptor Leo Carson, was damaged after getting hit with a blunt object. On Tuesday, all that was left was the stand. Carson said the remaining pieces of the damaged bust were stolen.
Carson provided a photo he took of the now-empty pedestal in Latham Square. The sculptor does not believe the vandalism was random. He said he thinks it was an attack against the Black Lives Matter movement.
"Last night, the racists returned and they removed the remaining sculpture. But I want this to be a symbol of joy for Brianna Taylor, no matter what they do we can rebuild it," said Carson at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. "When you mess with a sculptor, I know how to build things so you can't defeat that."
Carson and some friends then begin filling in the base of the best with cement. He says he is hoping that will prevent it from being disturbed again.
"I don't think there's a single person in Oakland who doesn't know who Breonna Taylor is, and I don't think you attack a sculpture like that by accident," he said on Sunday. "And I think that it was an act of racism and an act of aggression and intimidation."
Oakland police said the department was looking into the latest incident and was investigating the previous instance of vandalism.
The sculptor has raised more than $21,000 to pay for the bronze bust to be recast in an online fundraiser.
Breonna Taylor was killed by police officers in Louisville during a botched raid in March. Her death, along with the recent police killings of George Floyd and many others, helped galvanize surging Black Lives Matter protests across the nation and demands for social justice and police reform.