Chalk Body Outlines Appear on City Sidewalks

More than a dozen sidewalk chalk drawings — which could be interpreted as impromptu political statements or premeditated guerrilla art, or somewhere in between — appeared throughout the city this Thursday.

Most are life-size human outlines with descriptions, dates, and names of people reportedly killed by law enforcement officers throughout the country in recent years.

All the drawings, according to a SBPD spokesperson, are technically illegal but, because of public safety coverage for Fiesta and other pressing issues, won’t immediately be washed off.

Eight such sketches were found at seemingly random intervals on the sidewalk in front of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse along Anacapa Street between Figueroa and Anapamu streets. An “artist’s statement” reads: “ESTIMATED 400 PEOPLE A YEAR IN THE U.S. ARE KILLED BY POLICE.” (See the attached photo slideshow.)

Other body outline drawings could be seen along State Street in front of Paseo Nuevo Mall.