Smashed bust of Breonna Taylor stolen in California — but it will be back, artist says

Visitors to a newly installed bust of Breonna Taylor in downtown Oakland found it smashed Saturday, police say.

“This vandalism is an act of racist aggression, and it shows why sculpture and art matters,” said artist Leo Carson, KQED reported. Taylor became a focus of Black Lives Matter protests after white police officers shot and killed her in her Kentucky home in March.

“I made this sculpture to support the Black Lives Matter movement and while I’m overcome with rage and sadness at their cowardly act, their vandalism will make her even more potent,” Carson said, according to the station.

Oakland police are investigating the vandalism, SFist reported.

On Tuesday, Carson discovered the smashed sculpture had been stolen, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“I went by just now and she’s gone.,” Carson wrote on Instagram with a photo of the empty base where the bust once stood.

Carson had installed the bust, crafted out of clay, concrete, wood, and foam, in downtown Oakland on Dec. 12, KTVU reported.

“I’ve been out in the street a lot protesting and organizing, and seeing all the art around really makes me feel more powerful, so I wanted to add my voice to that chorus,” Carson said, KTVU reported.

He called the damage to the bust “incredibly hurtful,” The Mercury News reported.

“I’ve put in hours and hours of my work and built it by hand,” Carson said, according to the publication. “Before the pandemic I was a waiter, so I paid for this out of my own pocket.”

Carson said he plans to replace the bust with a bronze sculpture that will be more resistant to vandals, KRON reported.

Passersby were dismayed by the smashed bust.

“I think it’s pretty messed up,” Oakland resident Matt Harlan told KTVU. ”It looks like a lot of work went into it and it’s a symbol for the community.”

“The attacks are not gonna stop. It’s up to the community, it’s up to our society and it’s up to us to protect this statue and protect Black women,” said Jodi-Ann Burey, KRON reported.

Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, died in March when she was shot by police during a raid on her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment. None of the officers have been charged with her death.

Louisville police announced this week that two of the detectives involved in the raid will be fired, The New York Times reported.

Taylor’s death became part of Black Lives Matter protests across the United States.

This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 7:14 AM with the headline "Smashed bust of Breonna Taylor stolen in California — but it will be back, artist says."