Ax damages cop memorial in Delaware

DOVER, Del. — A memorial honoring Delaware law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty was damaged with an ax, authorities said Friday.

Dover police received a call shortly after 5:30 a.m. Friday by a passerby who reported that a person was vandalizing the memorial on Legislative Mall.

A bronze statute of a police officer kneeling in reverence in front of a granite wall inscribed with the names of fallen police officers was damaged, and two urine-soaked state flags were placed on the ground. An ax was left behind at the scene.

It comes as protesters around the country have called for the removal of monuments many say are symbols of racism after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on the handcuffed man’s neck for more than eight minutes.

Meanwhile, officials in Wilmington said Friday they are removing statutes of Christopher Columbus and Caesar Rodney, who rode 70 miles through a thunderstorm to Philadelphia in 1776 to cast the deciding vote for Delaware to join 11 other colonies in voting for a resolution to declare independence from Great Britain.

A crane began removing the Columbus statute Friday. Officials said the Rodney statue would be removed this weekend.

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki said in a prepared statement that the statues were being removed and stored so there could be “an overdue discussion about the public display of historical figures and events.”

The statement also noted, however, that city officials had been monitoring social media posts indicating that individuals and groups were planning to damage or remove the statues.