PHILADELPHIA’S former mayor and police commissioner had his state taken down under the cloak of darkness — mainly due to rioters attempting to set it on fire after painting it with racial remarks, Your Content has learned.
The statue was put up in 1988.
“First of all I didn’t like that statue and I didn’t put it there,” said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.
About a dozen crew members arrived shortly after midnight Wednesday and began loosening the statue from where it stood on the steps of the Municipal Services Building across from City Hall. Members of the National Guard surrounded the area as they worked to remove it.
Francis Lazarro Rizzo, Sr. died on July 16, 1991.
He served as Philadelphia police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980.
As Your Content readers know, Mayor Kenney recently signed off on a mandatory curfew ranging from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. thru 6:30 a.m. for all civilians.
Officers were order to arrest any individuals outside during those hours, including news reporters, several of which were jailed for attempting to document the chaos.