DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) – City of Dallas officials said they’re searching for alternative plans to remove the Robert E. Lee statue in Lee Park after several recent setbacks, including a tragic accident.
The crane that was set to remove the statue was involved in a fatal wreck in the 7700 block of SM Wright Freeway Sunday night. The driver of the 18-wheeler that ran a red light and collided with the crane was killed and the crane was heavily damaged.
Last week, crews were forced to stop work on the statue’s removal due to a restraining order.
The initial estimate for removal was $400,000 but the city’s Richard Hill said because of the circumstances, that cost could go up.
“We don’t have a time frame yet for when operations to remove the statue is going to be restarted,” he said.
Meanwhile, City Manager T.C. Broadnax said another reason the city is falling behind is because some crane companies do not want to get involved due to intimidation.
He told the Dallas Morning News that he’s been told some companies have received threats to both their businesses and families if they take part in the job.
Both Hill and Broadnax said despite setbacks, the city is looking for a new crane to do the job and is still planning on taking the statue down.
Dallas Mayor Pro-Tem Dwaine Caraway said the city has an obligation to protect the public by making sure Lee’s statue is removed.
“We’ve seen what happened in Charlottesville and we’ve seen across the country where we’re having contentious debates in regards to these statues,” he said.
The Dallas Police Department said they’ll continue to have officers stationed at the park to maintain security until the statue is removed.
Chief U. Renee Hall said she understands that people are split on this issue but stressed that police will do the job they’re called in to do.
“We recognize there’s some division here. Under my leadership, we’re not operating in division. We are one Dallas. We are on community. We are one law enforcement community and we’re going to operate in that space,” she said.
Many cities and states nationwide have made plans to remove Confederate statues after the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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