DETROIT (WWJ) - Police in Monroe made two arrests overnight Tuesday after a controversial Union Army officer's monument was vandalized.
Officials with the Monroe Public Safety Department said they received a call around 2:30 a.m. from a driver who reportedly saw three people tagging the George Armstrong Custer Equestrian Monument in St. Mary's Park in downtown Monroe.
As police responded to the scene in the area of W. Elm Ave. at N. Monroe St., an officer saw three people dressed in dark clothing with one reportedly holding a can of spray paint.
As another officer activated their patrol lights, the trio took off with two reportedly running across Monroe Street toward Tiffany's Pizza while the other bolted behind a Subway sandwich shop.
Police reportedly apprehended one suspect behind the pizzeria and another was taken into custody on Willow Street, just east of the Monroe Farmer's Market.
The third suspect remains at large and their identity is unknown at this time.
"The first subject was identified as a 29-year-old female from the Detroit, MI. area. The second subject was identified as a 32-year-old female, also from the Detroit, MI. area," police said in a statement. "Both were lodged in the Monroe County Jail. Charges of Malicious Destruction of Property and Resisting and Obstructing are being sought."
Both women are expected to be arraigned on charges later today.
Video of the incident posted to social media shows the vandals wrote the message, "We scalped," with white spray paint on the statue.
General Custer's legacy has remained a controversial discussion well after his death in 1876.
Custer, Monroe's most famous former resident, is celebrated as a Civil War hero for his valor fighting with the Union at the Battle of Gettysburg, but his accomplishments in the Civil War have been blemished for his role on behalf of the U.S. government in the Indian Wars during the 1800s.
According to Indian County Today, the Anishinaabek Caucus regards Custer, most widely known as "The Indian Killer," as a war criminal for leading deadly attacks on Native Americans before being killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
In the last couple of years, people have voiced support for the removal of the statue in downtown Monroe.
"This statue is a symbol of oppression for Indigenous and African American people," Julie Dye, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and Anishinaabek Caucus Board Member, told Indian Country Today in 2020.
A petition for its removal started in 2020 has gained over 14,000 signatures, reported WDET, but the City of Monroe said there are currently no plans to alter the monument.
Tuesday's alleged vandalism is still under investigation with the Monroe Public Safety Department. Anyone with information has been asked to contact Det./Captain Tyler Dickerson at 734-243-7524.
