Richmond Police Memorial

Statue in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.

37°32′34.23″N 77°28′46.44″W / 37.5428417°N 77.4795667°W / 37.5428417; -77.4795667LocationRichmond, VirginiaDesignerMaria Kirby-SmithTypeMemorialCompletion date1987 (1987)Dedicated toOfficers killed in the line of duty

The Richmond Police Memorial is a statue previously located in Richmond, Virginia's Byrd Park, sculpted by Maria Kirby-Smith. The statue depicts a police officer holding a young girl, and a nearby plaque lists the names of 39 Richmond police officers killed in the line of duty between 1863 and 2003.

History

The statue was originally erected in Nina F. Abady Park in 1987, funded by the private Police Memorial Fund. The statue remained in this location, surrounded by overgrown shrubbery, until it was moved to Byrd Park in 2016.^[1] The move was spearheaded by retired patrolman Glenwood W. Burley, and cost roughly $24,000. The plaque was updated from 28 names to 39, to account for 11 officers that died in the 1870 collapse of the Virginia State Capitol.^[2]^[3]

Vandalism and removal

Prior to its re-dedication that October,^[2] the statue was vandalized with spraypaint reading "Justice for Alton."^[4] During the 2020 George Floyd protests, the statue was again vandalized, and was moved to an undisclosed location to avoid further damage.^[5]

References

^ Jones, Sean (August 9, 2023). "One man's quest to honor fallen Virginia police officers". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Lazarus, Jeremy M. (October 22, 2016). "Police Memorial to be rededicated at ceremony on Saturday". Richmond Free Press. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
^ "Richmond Police Memorial statue relocates to Byrd Park". 8News. June 4, 2016. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
^ Hedgpeth, Dana (July 14, 2016). "Vandals deface police memorial in Richmond". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
^ "Richmond Police Memorial statue removed from Byrd Park after being vandalized". 8News. June 11, 2020. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.

External links

Media related to Richmond Police Memorial at Wikimedia Commons

Monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests

United States

Alabama	Birmingham – Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument; Charles Linn Huntsville – Confederate Soldier Memorial ✻ Mobile – Raphael Semmes
Arkansas	Bentonville – Confederate Monument ✻ Little Rock – Company A, Capitol Guards Pine Bluff – Confederate Monument
California	Carmel-by-the-Sea – Junípero Serra Chula Vista – Christopher Columbus Los Angeles – Junípero Serra Sacramento – Columbus' Last Appeal to Queen Isabella ✻; Junípero Serra; John Sutter San Francisco – Christopher Columbus; Ulysses S. Grant; Francis Scott Key; Junípero Serra Ventura – Junípero Serra ✻
Connecticut	Bridgeport – Christopher Columbus Hartford – Christopher Columbus ✻ Middletown – Christopher Columbus New Haven – Christopher Columbus ✻ New London – Christopher Columbus ✻ Norwalk – Christopher Columbus
Delaware	Dover – Delaware Law Enforcement Memorial Wilmington – Christopher Columbus; Caesar Rodney
District of Columbia	Washington – Albert Pike
Florida	Jacksonville – Confederate Memorial; Florida's Tribute to the Women of the Confederacy ✻ Palatka – Putnam County Confederate Memorial ✻ Quincy – Gadsden Confederate Memorial
Georgia	Athens – Confederate Monument Decatur – DeKalb County Confederate Monument
Indiana	Indianapolis – Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Kentucky	Frankfort – Jefferson Davis Louisville – John B. Castleman; Louis XVI
Louisiana	New Orleans – John McDonogh
Massachusetts	Boston – Christopher Columbus; Emancipation Memorial
Michigan	Dearborn – Orville L. Hubbard Detroit – Christopher Columbus
Minnesota	Minneapolis – Calvin Griffith Saint Paul – Christopher Columbus
Missouri	St. Louis – Christopher Columbus
Nevada	Las Vegas – Hey Reb!
New Jersey	Camden – Christopher Columbus Newark – Christopher Columbus West Orange – Christopher Columbus ✻
New Mexico	Albuquerque – Juan de Oñate Alcalde – Juan de Oñate Santa Fe – Diego de Vargas
New York	Albany – Philip Schuyler ✻ Buffalo – Christopher Columbus Hempstead – Thomas Jefferson New York City – Theodore Roosevelt Rochester – Frederick Douglass
North Carolina	Asheville – Vance Monument ✻ Charlotte – Jerry Richardson Raleigh – North Carolina Women of the Confederacy; Josephus Daniels; Henry Lawson Wyatt Rocky Mount – Nash County Confederate Monument ✻ Salisbury – Gloria Victis ✻ Wilmington – Confederate Memorial; George Davis
Ohio	Columbus – Christopher Columbus (City Hall); Christopher Columbus (Columbus State Community College)
Oregon	Eugene – The Pioneer; The Pioneer Mother Portland – Captain William Clark Monument; Thompson Elk Fountain; Thomas Jefferson; Abraham Lincoln; Theodore Roosevelt; Harvey W. Scott; George Washington
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia – Christopher Columbus ✻; Frank Rizzo; George Whitefield
Rhode Island	Providence – Christopher Columbus
South Carolina	Columbia – Christopher Columbus Charleston – John C. Calhoun
Tennessee	Nashville – Edward W. Carmack; Sam Davis ✻
Texas	Beaumont – Our Confederate Soldiers Dallas – Confederate War Memorial; One Riot, One Ranger Denton – Confederate Soldier Monument ✻ Fort Worth – Confederate Monument Houston – Christopher Columbus; Richard W. Dowling ✻; Spirit of the Confederacy
Virginia	Alexandria – Appomattox Fredericksburg – Slave Auction Block Norfolk – Confederate Monument Portsmouth – Confederate Monument Roanoke – Robert E. Lee Richmond – Christopher Columbus; Jefferson Davis; Howitzer Monument ✻; Stonewall Jackson; Robert E. Lee; Matthew Fontaine Maury; Richmond Police Memorial; J. E. B. Stuart; Williams Carter Wickham
Wisconsin	Madison – Forward; Hans Christian Heg

Other countries

Belgium	Antwerp – Leopold II Ghent – Leopold II
New Zealand	Hamilton – John Fane Charles Hamilton
United Kingdom	Bristol – Edward Colston Cambridge – Sir Ronald Fisher window Greater Manchester – Dunham Massey Hall sundial London – John Cass; Robert Clayton ✻; Thomas Guy ✻; Robert Milligan