A Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Denver’s City Park was vandalized this week, with parts of the memorial being stolen, according to local authorities.
The pieces of the marble and bronze “I Have a Dream” memorial were stolen sometime on Tuesday, with The Denver Post reporting that a bronze torch, angel, and panel depicting Black military veterans were taken.
The Denver Police Department said it was notified of the vandalism on Wednesday.
Police have launched an investigation into the vandalism to determine whether or not racial bias was involved. The Denver Police Department’s Bias-Motivated Crime Unit is assisting.
The chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission, Vern Howard, shared with the post that he was informed of the vandalism by members of the community.
“You can steal. You can take. You can pull. You can hate. You can do everything that you believe necessary to detour the message of Dr. King and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission,” Howard said.
“We’re going to continue to march, to honor and to work toward freedom, toward justice, toward the end of racism, toward the end of hatred, and the end of discrimination.”