Cops Arrest Man Caught on Camera Vandalizing George Floyd Statue in New York

Police have made an arrest in the defacing of the bronze George Floyd statue in New York.

According to NBC New York, Michael Beals, 37, was arrested on suspicion of criminal mischief. The statue was unveiled on September 30 at Manhattan’s Union Square, but three days later it was vandalized.

CNN says that around 10 AM on Oct. 3 during the Confront Art’s installation “SEEINJUSTICE” exhibition a man approached the statue and started defacing it with gray water-based paint.

Artist Chris Carnabuci created three murals, one of which was the bronze statue. He told CNN earlier this month about the defacement “I’m not shocked, but I’m still pissed. It’s a very counterproductive thing to do, and it’s not the kind of civil discourse — the keyword being civil — I wanted.”

According to The New York Times, another one of Carnabuci creations of Floyd was destroyed in Brooklyn, four days after it was revealed in June.