DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – The City of Dallas has received a court order granting removal of the confederate monument at Pioneer Park.
According to a city spokesperson, the city is working with the vendor to develop a plan for removal, nothing has been determined yet.
The ruling comes after city attorneys asked an appeals court to allow the city to remove the monument out of concern it could be forced down during continued protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis Police custody.
The Dallas City Council previously voted to remove the statue but litigation has prevented the city from doing so. City attorney’s filed an emergency motion this week to have the monument taken down out of fear the statue or protesters could be harmed.
“The monument has been previously vandalized,” the city stated in the motion. “Because of this, the City has covered the Confederate Monument, placed additional fencing around it, and increased security patrols. The Court directed a $50,000 bond because of the additional costs the City was incurring pending disposition of the underlying appeal. The appeal has been pending longer than the City’s original estimates. It has now been over fourteen months since the notice of appeal was filed in the underlying case.”
Last month, George Floyd was tragically killed in Minneapolis Police custody. His death triggered protests, demonstrations, and rallies all over the world. Dallas has been no exception and at some of the demonstration violence erupted.
“In other parts of the world, the protesters directed their anger and frustration at symbols and monuments,” the city’s motions reads. “The Confederate-related monuments have been vandalized and/or damaged in Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia; Montgomery and Birmingham, Alabama; Nashville, Tennessee; Charleston, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Oxford, Mississippi; and Bristol, England.
As of now, the Dallas monument still stands and is wrapped in tarp.
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