The statue in Davis’ Central Park of Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Indian lawyer and independence leader, was found Wednesday morning toppled and lying on the grass next to its plinth. The 6-foot-tall, 950-pound bronze likeness appeared to have been sawed off at the ankles and half its face was severed and missing.
The statue was found after a night when wind and heavy rainfall knocked out power in much of downtown Davis. “City staff discovered vandalism to the statue of Gandhi in Central Park this morning while surveying storm damage,” Davis City Councilman Lucas Frerichs wrote Wednesday night in a Facebook comment. “The statue is being removed and will be stored in a safe place until it can be evaluated.”