New York doctor facing charges for allegedly taking Christopher Columbus statue from elderly neighbor

A New York doctor is facing petit larceny charges for allegedly stealing a statue of Christopher Columbus from an elderly man in the name of social justice.

Sean Morrison, 58, was seen on closed-circuit TV in late June walking through the lobby of his apartment complex and taking the statue before walking out of the building with it, according to an opinion piece in the New York Post.

Later, Morrison would claim he took the statue because of George Floyd's death in May.

“While not an excuse, I had had a particularly difficult day as we watched 10 patients die of COVID that afternoon on our palliative care unit and in the setting of George Floyd’s murder my emotions overcame my logical thought,” Morrison later said in an apology letter.

Morrison had attempted to take the statue the night before, according to the New York Post, but was caught in the act by the 91-year-old owner of the statue, John Cartafalsa.

Cartafalsa confronted Morrison, who eventually agreed to return the statue to the place it had stood for 30 years.

Cartafalsa was devastated when he discovered the statue missing a couple of days later, contacting police to investigate.

According to attorney John Cartafalsa Jr., Cartafalsa’s 62-year-old son, the statue has deep meaning to the family.

“In my father’s eyes the statue is priceless,” the younger Cartafalsa told the New York Post. “It has a lot of family and emotional meaning.”

Cartafalsa Jr. claimed Morrison made no attempt to have a dialogue with his father about the statue, and the building's co-op told him that the statue was “destroyed.”

“This guy’s attitude is despicable,” Cartafalsa Jr. said. “Morrison claims he told my father the statue was objectionable, but my father had no discussion with him at all other than to tell him the statue was his and not to take it.”

Morrison said in his apology letter that he felt remorse for not talking to his elderly neighbor before stealing the statue.

“I am writing to apologize for the removal of your statue from our building lobby and for not discussing this with you more thoroughly than at our brief conversation when you returned from Florida,” Morrison wrote to the elder Cartafalsa.

Morrison was charged last Thursday with petit larceny and is due in court on Dec. 8.

Historical statues have become controversial nationwide in the wake of the May death of Floyd in Minneapolis during an arrest. Some have claimed that the presence of such statues celebrates America’s racist history, sparking a movement to tear many statues down.

Over the summer, President Trump was critical of the movement to take down statues after one group targeted a memorial of Abraham Lincoln, the president most known for emancipating slaves.

“I have authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent," Trump said in a Twitter June. "This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused," he added. "There will be no exceptions!”