Planned saint statues at Quincy police headquarters spark outcry

The ACLU of Massachusetts says the two religious statues set to be added to the façade of the a public building in Quincy would "plainly violate the Massachusetts Constitution."

Quincy Mayor Tom Koch said the 10-feet tall bronze statues depicting St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian, the patron saints of police and firefighters, would be part of the new $170 million public safety headquarters. He said the statues' combined cost is $850,000.

Quincy residents upset about the project launched an online petition to withdraw the commission for the works of art. The image of St. Michael has drawn criticism from some Quincy residents and one city councilor because it shows the religious angel stepping on the head and neck of a demon. Critics have also said religious imagery does not belong near a public building.

Koch disagrees.

"These images transcend faith. They transcend religions," he told NBC10 Boston. "Police officers hold in high regard the image of St. Michael. It speaks for truth and justice good over evil. Florian speaks to bravery and courage, and it goes back to Roman soldier in charge of the fire brigades. Both images have been recognized by police and fire services for hundreds of years."

But in an a letter, the ACLU said the purpose of the statues is "plainly religious."

"Although Mayor Koch has attempted to justify the statues as symbolizing the 'universal concept' of good versus evil, saints are specific to certain sects of Christianity," the ACLU wrote. "They are neither ubiquitous nor secular."

The email goes on to state that "placing larger-than-life statues of Catholic saints in front of a public building unequivocally advances one religion to the exclusion of all others. It conveys the message that Quincy is a Catholic community and that non-Catholics do not belong or are less valued."

News of the statues came to light earlier this month after an article appeared in the Patriot Ledger newspaper. Several city councilors were unaware of the statues creation prior to that report.

At Monday's public meeting, City Council President Ian Cain said the core issue was not the statues themselves, but that members of the council were unaware that they were being built.

Cain went on to slam the "cowardice" of an unnamed person who leaked information on the statues to the newspaper.

"This wasn't meant to open up a discussion with the people who work in government," Cain said. "This was someone trying to embarrass us, which I don't appreciate. The council should not be put in a position, whether by the mayor's office or by anyone who wanted to subvert this, where we appear uninformed. That's not good faith."

Last week, Koch told NBC10 Boston he could have communicated better with city councilors about this expenditure. But he says projects of this size and scope change during the construction process.

"When the city council votes on a project, whether that's a seawall, a school, an animal care facility that we're about to open, they approve the project with concept designs. In many cases, the schematic designs are for maybe 75%, sometimes 90%, sometimes 100%. But the projects continue to evolve until you finish the project," Koch told NBC10 Boston. "The city council approved the project probably not knowing all of the detail in the building that is there now, but that's typical."

NBC10 Boston asked the mayor whether the decision to add the statues and hire an artist went through the normal administrative process at city hall. Koch told us that he would have to look back to see if a request for proposal was done. A search of the city's website shows no record of a request for proposals for the art project.

Koch commissioned the work to Sergey Eylanbekov, who was hired by the city to create several other sculptures throughout Quincy from statues of John Hancock, and John and Abigail Adams near Quincy City Hall to three generals memorialized in the city's Generals Park.

The mayor also defended the price tag.

"The total project costs about $170 million. So, when you put the $850,000 into the $170 [million], to me, it is not a large sum in and of itself," he said. "We are not building a building on the cheap, and I'm proud of that. And this was some artwork to go with that beautiful structure."

Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy told NBC10 Boston that he was "honored" by the St. Michael statue and agrees with Koch's view that reflects a victory against evil.