A large Martin Luther King Jr. monument in a Denver city park was vandalized, and police are investigating whether racial bias was involved.
Portions of the marble and bronze “I Have a Dream” monument were stolen sometime Tuesday.
The missing pieces include bronze torches and angels, as well as bronze panels depicting black veterans, The Denver Post reported.
Vern Howard, chairman of the Martin Luther King Jr. Colorado Holiday Committee, told the newspaper Wednesday morning that he was informed of the vandalism by area residents.
“You can steal. Go ahead. You can pull. You can hate.” can do anything,” Howard said.
“We will continue to march, honor, and strive for freedom, justice, an end to racism, an end to hatred, and an end to discrimination.”
Artist Ed Dwight created this monument in 2002.
It features a bronze statue of the king and smaller statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass.
The Denver Police Department’s Bias Crimes Unit is investigating.
