Denver to replace painted-over murals

DENVER, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The city of Denver will help an arts group replace murals destroyed last month by city workers before the Democratic National Convention, officials say.

The murals on the side of a building were painted over as police looked for items rioters might use to disrupt the convention, the Rocky Mountain News reported Monday.

Why the murals were removed is unclear.

"What we had asked for was for graffiti to be removed, not murals to be removed," police spokeswoman Sharon Hahn said.

The Other Side Arts had the murals on its building. The organization helps local artists learn business skills and runs art training for disabled and homeless people.

"We definitely felt violated and felt like basically our creativity and our First Amendment (right) to speak our mind was all being questioned," the organization's founder, Jeff Ball, was quoted as saying.

City public works spokeswoman Ann Williams said the agency will work with the Other Side to replace the artwork.

"We absolutely support and value what they do," Williams said. "We obviously want to make it right for them."