Vandals spray graffiti on George Floyd mural
Niala Charles
PHOENIX — A vandal defaced a George Floyd mural in the Valley on the first day of the contentious Derek Chauvin trial.
The tagger sprayed the word “fentanyl” on Floyd’s face along with X’s over his eyes and mouth.
Jeremie Bacpac painted the mural near 16th Street and Thomas Road nearly a year ago.
“Have to fix that message. That was my first reaction. The purpose is to have a conversation about this,” said Bacpac.
The mural shows George Floyd’s face on a $20 bill below the words the price of Black lives.
“To the cops, his life was worth a counterfeit $20 bill,” said Bacpac.
George Floyd died at the hands of police after a grocery store employee accused him of paying with a fake $20 bill.
The tagging happened the same day the defense argued that illegal drugs and a heart condition killed Floyd. Prosecutors argue that Floyd would still be alive if now-former officer, Derek Chauvin, hadn’t put his knee on Floyd’s neck.
On Tuesday, Bacpac spent hours fixing her mural in hopes of retaining the original message.
“Go by there and say what does that $20 bill means,” said Bacpac.
This time she added a new addition. The new mural has her silhouette with a spray can next to Floyd.
She said it means, “if you come back and do it again I’m here.”
Bacpac said she hasn’t reported the crime to the police because she doesn’t want to give the vandal any notoriety.
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