Breonna Taylor sculpture stolen days after it was vandalized: artist

by Joseph Choi - 12/29/20 5:14 PM ET

The artist who created a ceramic bust of Breonna Taylor in Oakland, Calif., said Tuesday that the sculpture has been stolen, just days after it was vandalized.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Leo Carson found the bust gone when he went to check on it Tuesday morning, a day after he was able to raise funds to recast the statue with sturdier bronze following the weekend vandalization.

Carson made the bust after he was laid off from his job as a server, crafting the sculpture over the course of several months, the newspaper reported. The art installation honored Taylor, the 26-year-old emergency room technician killed in her Kentucky home by Louisville police officers earlier this year.

The killings of Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery sparked nationwide protests this year against police brutality and racial injustice. One officer involved in Taylor’s shooting has been charged with wanton endangerment; no officers have been charged in her death.

On Saturday, the bust was found shattered into pieces only two weeks after it had been installed. The piece featured the phrase “Say Her Name Breonna Taylor.”

An Instagram post on Carson’s account showed the empty spot where the bust had originally stood. Carson wrote in the post, “I went by just now and she’s gone.”

“The vandals are continuing their campaign of intimidation against the Black Lives Matter movement and we must resist their attempt to erase Breonna’s image,” Carson told the Times.

Carson said he believes the bust is “likely completely destroyed.”

A police report was filed with the Oakland Police Department regarding the first incident of vandalism. The department has said it is aware of the vandalism and is investigating, though it did not respond to the Times when asked if anything would be done regarding the theft.