Police investigating vandalism of George Floyd mural in Yellow Springs

Mar. 2—Police are investigating the vandalism of a George Floyd mural in Kieth's Alley in Yellow Springs.

"That was disappointing to say the least," said Village Council president Brian Housh of the incident.

Yellow Springs village manager Josué Salmerón asked anyone with information on the vandalism that was discovered Monday to contact police at 937-767-7206. He told the Dayton Daily News the village is working with the muralist to restore the mural.

Chief Brian Carlson of the Yellow Springs Police Department said someone came and threw white paint at the mural sometime Sunday night. Police are investigating and if the offender is found, he or she will be prosecuted, he said.

Last June, artists Pierre Nagley and Lindsay Burke created the murals in Kieth's Alley, an area stretching behind the businesses along Xenia Avenue where artists have painted murals since the late 1980s.

The subject of the mural, George Floyd, was a Black man killed in Minneapolis by police. His death sparked protests across the country, including in Dayton.

More information about the vandalism and how it occurred was not immediately available.

The Yellow Springs mural is not the first mural in the Dayton area to be vandalized. A Sugarcreek Twp. mural commemorating George Floyd was vandalized last year. The mural was underneath Washington Mill Road in Mill Bridge Launch in Sugarcreek Twp.

Staff Writers Lisa Powell and Parker Perry contributed to this report.