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Philadelphia To Move Statue Of Controversial Ex-Mayor

90.5 WESA | By Associated Press

Published November 3, 2017 at 1:20 PM EDT

Shown is a statue of the late Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, who also served as the city's police commissioner, outside the Municipal Services Building in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia will move the statue of former Mayor and Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo from its location in the shadow of City Hall.

The city announced its decision in a statement Friday.

Calls to tear down the statue came after a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August reignited a national debate around statues honoring Confederate generals and other racially charged figures in American history.

A new site for the statue has not been announced.

City leaders called for public input on the statue's fate earlier this fall and received thousands of suggestions.

Rizzo served as mayor from 1972 to 1980 and his critics argue that he led a corrupt police department that alienated minorities.

Supporters see him as a native everyman who spoke his mind.

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Local Headlines Frank Rizzo Philadelphia corruption

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