by Mark Bellinger
NASHVILLE, Tenn.- A statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Confederate Army General and leader of the Ku Klux Klan has been vandalized in South Nashville and Metro Police are investigating.
Bill Dorris owns the statue that can be seen from Interstate 65 and is not happy about the vandalism. He claims it happens every year at the same time. He says there is up to $6,000 of damage.
"Every year we have Black History Month I have to go through something like this every February," said Dorris.
That claim has been disputed by Metro Police records. They confirm that there has been vandalism at the site in the past, but police checked their records back to 2005 and found nothing in February.
Dorris erected the statue on his property in 1995. Jack Kershaw, who is no longer living , put it together in his backyard. Dorris said it took nearly two years to complete the statue.
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Lieutenant General in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. A lot of people have never been happy about the statue, but others see it as an important part of history.
There are strong opinions all around.
"Am I surprised it was vandalized? No. Do I think it needs to be there? No, but the property owner has a right to erect whatever he chooses to erect there, so it's his property," said one Nashville resident.
"I think a lot of people take it kind of racist I guess, but I don't I think Nathaniel Bedford Forrest was a pretty intricate part of American History," said another.
Some residents were torn over their feelings about the statue and its vandalism.
"I hate vandalism. That makes me really sad, and I hate the statue, both are true all at the same time," said Deborah Denson.
Dorris said he has no idea who could have damaged the statue, but he wants it to stop.
"It's been going on for ten years. We get hit some way or another and I'm tired of it" he said
Metro Police dusted for finger prints on some tape used to put some of the signs on the statue. They said they found at least one.
The statue has been vandalized several times. Someone even fired shots at it from I-65, putting several holes in it.
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