(CNN)A man suffered life-threatening injuries when protesters in Portsmouth, Virginia partially dismantled a Confederate monument on Wednesday night, according to Virginia State Police.
Portsmouth Mayor John L. Rowe, Jr. said Portsmouth Police had done the right thing in confining the vandalism to the one piece of public property, so as to protect lives and the remaining private property in the area.
“We can repair the monument, but an injured body carries that scar for life. We can repair the monument, but we cannot bring back a life – if one was lost because of our escalating the event by the use of force,” the Mayor said.
The mayor added that the city is mourning the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, but people must change as a nation, a state and a city by working together to eliminate all aspects of racism.