A statue of baseball legend Jackie Robinson stolen from a Kansas park was found dismantled and burned in a trash can fire Tuesday morning in what authorities called a “disgraceful” act, as the search for the perpetrators continues.
The statue was taken from McAdams Park in Wichita last week. Surveillance video captured individuals entering Jackie Robinson Pavilion around midnight on Thursday, removing the statue and placing it in a pickup truck. They cut off the statue at the ankles, leaving behind only Robinson’s feet, with damages estimated to be around $75,000.
Around 8:38 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the Wichita Fire Department responded to a report of a trash can fire at Garvey Park, according to Wichita police spokesperson Andrew Ford.
After extinguishing the fire, they found what appeared to be pieces of the Robinson statue, “which is not salvageable at this time,” Ford told reporters during a press briefing Tuesday.
The Wichita Fire Department is investigating the arson, while police continue to investigate the theft, Ford said.
Further proving that no matter how “advanced” we become as a people, racism and hatred will always be an artifact of the past that threatens to drag us back into a more hateful time.