The City is offering an $8,000 reward for anyone with information that could lead to the identification and conviction of whoever is responsible for the recent vandalism of the Martin Luther King Jr. statue at MLK Park.
“This was absolutely both a racist, horrible, disgusting act on our Martin Luther King statue in King Park,” Mayor Robert Garcia said. “This is especially offensive and hurtful to the Black community and to all those that respect and love Dr. King’s message that resonates not just in our community but across the country and the world.”
The Anti-Defamation League offered an initial $3,000 reward for information. The Long Beach City Council boosted the reward by an additional $5,000 from general funds at its Tuesday, July 13 meeting.
“This is one of the steps we’re taking to demonstrate the seriousness of this act,” said Councilmember Suely Saro, who proposed the fund allocation.
On July 2 around 3 p.m., Long Beach police officers were dispatched to MLK Park, where a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. was vandalized with spray-painted graffiti of a swastika and thunderbolts.
The graffiti has since been removed by Parks, Recreation and Marine. So far, the Long Beach Police Department has no suspect description or workable leads.
City-run cameras were present at the scene of the vandalism, but the camera pointed at the statue was broken and did not capture the suspects. City Manager Tom Modica said that the camera had since been repaired and the City will work to install additional lighting in the area.
Councilmember Suzie Price suggested the City reach out to the County Board of Supervisors to increase the award for information in the hopes of incentivizing tips from potential witnesses.
“I really do hope that the perpetrator is caught and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” she said.
