The Tampa Police Department has released a video in the search of those responsible for the vandalism of a public artwork depicting African American history, which the Florida city’s police chief is decrying as “senseless” and an “insult to our community.”
The moving artwork at Perry Harvey Park in downtown Tampa was vandalized sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning, causing an estimated thousands of dollars in damage, according to Fox13 Tampa Bay.
“The vandalism of this artwork is an insult to our community and to all those who contributed to its creation,” said Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement. “It is disappointing to think anyone would cause destruction to this artistic representation of our city’s history. We are working to identify those responsible for this senseless act.”
Tampa Police described the artwork as a “unique and contextual collection of four major artworks that tell the story of the African American community and Historic Central Avenue, which was made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.”
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“Detectives are currently working to gather evidence and develop leads to apprehend those responsible, including working with nearby residents and local business partners to review any video footage that may have been captured in the area,” it also said.
Authorities have released a video showing numerous tiles shattered among the artworks.
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Tampa Police Maj. Eric DeFelice told Fox13 Tampa Bay that the damage is “significant to these tiles, the thick glass” and they are “absolutely destroyed.”
“The work itself is not just a tile that you can go buy at Lowe’s or Home Depot,” DeFelice added. “These were put together, handcrafted by two artisans who live in New York and came down here and did outstanding work. So, they’re almost irreplaceable.”
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call the Tampa Police Department or Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay.
