South Windsor Mayor Apologizes For Process of BLM Mural Approval

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — As police continue to investigate vandalism performed on a Black Lives Matter mural painted in the driveway of South Windsor Town Hall, the town's mayor made a public statement Friday morning in which he took full responsibility for the process by which the mural had been originally approved.

Mayor Andrew Paterna addressed the media on the town hall steps, and outlined the process he undertook in approving the mural in early June, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

"During this very emotional time in our town and in the country, we had three protest rallies here in South Windsor," Paterna said. "Two of those rallies were organized by a local student and citizen group called South Windsor-Black Lives Matter."

Paterna said he met with the group's organizers on June 11 "about establishing some way to show our citizen support for the Black Lives Matter Movement." He said he agreed with their proposal for a mural, and was able to secure private funding for the paint.

"I made sure that no town funds or town staff were involved in the creation of the mural," Paterna said, adding the mural was painted June 12. "I offered my approval for the mural to be added to the driveway near town hall, and I take full responsibility for that decision. I did not talk with any other Town Council members and the town manager was not involved in making the decision."

Paterna said he did not follow any approved procedure in making the decision, emphasizing "the town has no formal process for approving this type of mural."

He apologized to any residents, council members or town staff members who may have been offended by his decision to approve the mural.

"These were not normal circumstances, and I hope you view this situation in the context of the national emergency during that time," he said.

He concluded he hopes the council will consider establishing a formal process for approval of artwork or murals requested by any town-based group in the future.

Around 11:45 p.m. Wednesday, surveillance footage revealed a person painted over the large yellow letters of the mural, then wrote "Blue Lives Matter" and another obscenity-laden message. Town employees covered the graffiti with black sealer Thursday morning.

Sgt. Mark Cleverdon said Friday police are reviewing the video footage of the incident as part of an ongoing investigation.

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