NYPD Paints over Mural depicting Them and Corporations as Murderers

The NYPD sent two plainclothes officers with paint, brushes, and rollers to paint over this mural, painted on private property with the owner's permission.

The mural, which included the word "murderers" painted above several tombstones and coffins with epitaph names that included the NYPD, the Environmental Protection Agency and global corporations including Halliburton and Monsanto

The day before, the NYPD sent officers to the business telling the owner the mural was a "bad idea" and needed to come down. According to the officers, neighbors were complaining because of the violent message. The business owner wasn't thrilled with the "threat", and didn't know what to do.

"I can't confront them, because I don't want problems," New Edition Cleaners owner Marina Curet, who has owned the business for five years

And, rather scarily, the officers said the mural was "anti-government" -

"They were accusing those kids of conspiring against the government and that it was bad for the neighborhood," said Curet's daughter Flora Curet, 30. "They're just expressing themselves."

The artist said he was inspired by the recent shooting of an unarmed man.
www.dnainfo.com...

I'm conflicted on this. The tactics of the NYPD were extremely heavy handed and threatening to the business owner. And the anti-government comment truly gave me the chills. The message is controversial no doubt - especially in light of the tension that already exists between the NYPD and many New Yorkers. Although I'm sure most would have no problem with BP, Monsanto and Haliburton being included.

But, shouldn't this controversy have been handled by the city council or mediated through some other legal avenue? Sending the police in to just paint it over? Is the mural freedom of expression or defamation? Is it disturbing to kids?

Just wondering what you all think.

Man that was a good looking wall if ive ever seen one...

Its a shame you arent free to express yourself in America anymore... I hate all this political correctness, wussy, go suck your thumb mentality

I would understand if it was painted on public property or govt owned property, but on a building, where the owner said it was ok? Thats just wrong, Isnt that vandalism really?

ETA: I really like these quotes from the source

"Isn't great art supposed to be controversial?" said Ian Lang, 48, a Hudson Heights resident, as a he snapped a picture of the mural before the police painted over it.

Artist Gina Cruzco also wrote on Facebook, "I was stunned and impressed when I first saw the mural. Shame on those who can't tolerate the truth."

So the pigs are actually saying with this message, it is okay to forcefeed violence to the youth through the fake rap culture, the fake mainstream media outlets, and the fake wars that we fight... but it is not okay to use words that define violence when they are associated with the true enemies of the people.

There is no way they could make an argument saying the artwork is detrimental to kids...

reply to post by morder1

Thats just wrong, Isnt that vandalism really?

Yes, Interesting. Painting on private property you don't own is called "graffiti" - an act of vandalism. Ha! the owner should have the cops charged with that.

The ANTI GOVERNMENT statement says it all.

The artist should come back and do it again without the word muderer. Killers would be good

I just found another article here which says the artist was contacted by the store owner after the police visit and was going to contact a lawyer, but never got the chance.

Mural was created on Thursday, cops painted over it the next Tuesday. The artist's words:

"And was the message negative? It certainly was forceful but negative? How about opinionated. I painted the wall to communicate my feelings in light of the continued violence and injustice created against all living things by the people and corporations that I mentioned in the mural. There are hundreds if not thousands of others that could be included.... Sometimes it just takes a small act like this to know where we stand as a community in the eyes of the authorities."

reply to post by Maluhia


That is some awsome artwork it is a shame with all the work that must have gone into it that it was just simply painted over s&f for reporting the story

If I had they money, I would take that mural and make it into Billboards and post them all over the United States.

She caved because she didnt want problems.

If she didnt cave, and the police couldnt cover it up- would there be this much attention?

Im glad that she stated that she felt "forced", because it shows us just exactly how far they are willing to go to get rid of anything that looks bad on them.

As far as freedom of speech is concerned- the owner gave that up when she let them paint over it.
She let them trample on her rights. Thats her fault.

What did they(cops) expect it to say? Cops are wonderful and praise McDonalds?


The owner should let the guy paint it again. Next time- Say no to cops and YES to the 1st amendment.


Edit to Add- That is a beautiful piece if you ask me. Straight to the point and True. They are all murderers. They kill more people than anyone else on the planet. Legal Criminal Organizations.

"In the kingdom of lies, the truth is treason". People hate hearing the truth, even if it could save them. It should be put on billboards to wake people up. Where is America? Ignorance is stupidity, not bliss.

The NYCLU has weighed in:

The New York Civil Liberties Union, which has had more than its fair share of legal confrontations with the NYPD, gave a heated assessment of the situation. "I'm appalled," NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman said to PIX11 News. "The police do not have the right to censor material they don't agree with. This is a violation of the First Amendment."

www.wpix.com...

The story is starting to get a lot of coverage, at least here in NY. How ironic that their actions, meant to cover up the situation, are now giving it more attention than ever!.

How did they know that thye were undercover NYPD? Or were they really badly undercover?

reply to post by PsykoOps

They weren't undercover, they were "plainclothes" - they apparently freely admitted they were NYPD.

The two identified themselves as police to a reporter.

gothamist.com...-1

Oh ok. Don't understand why they would do that thought. Either not the smartest of the bunch (which is very likely) or someone just saying so to make a story.

reply to post by PsykoOps

I'm guessing it was to up the intimidation factor.

A new pic of how the wall looks now - and some protestors.

reply to post by Maluhia

The net result of all this, of course, is that instead of this mural being seen just by a few people who happen to pass by it in one neighborhood, it's now being seen all over the world in pictures on the web.

By taking this heavy handed (and probably illegal) action, these cops just did far more damage to their side.

Just a random thought; If corporations are people, and Bain killed corporations to get a return on investment... By Mit's logic how many murders is he guilty of?

That picture(the protested version) will be remebered throughout History.

Watch.

"Attempted Attack on the First Amendment".

What I'd do is repaint it and setup few nice cams with streams and hd captures. Just to give NYPD a nice photo-op if they really want to hurt their reputation.

Someone supposedly slapped this up on a wall nearby -



Still haven't seen any response/defense from the NYPD - I guess they're working on the spin.