Local reporter claims to have caught statue vandal in the act -- but camera footage shows this

The removal or defacement of Confederate monuments and statues makes the news almost every day since the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. The controversy has even reached as far west as Phoenix, Arizona, where a Confederate memorial was found spray painted by Bryan West of NBC 12News.

He obtained what was hailed as exclusive footage of the damage and the fleeing perpetrator, as he happened to be in Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza to do a generalized story about the national controversy. He also contacted police to tell them the suspect was on a bicycle.

Mike Broomhead of KFYI was curious about this serendipitous report and obtained the security camera footage of the area. Mike Opelka analyzed it on today’s “Pure Opelka,” because, as he asserts, the story “stinks on ice.”

First, a bicyclist circles the area. From another camera, a van can be seen shining its headlights on the back of the monument. The bicyclist then comes back with spray paint and defaces it. He leaves, and the news crew emerges from the van and sets up for their story.

Mike reached out to West and also 12News to explain what he was seeing in the video, but they have yet to respond.

To see more from Mike, visit his channel on TheBlaze and listen live to “Pure Opelka” weekdays noon–3 p.m. ET, "Pure Opelka Replay" weekdays midnight–3 a.m. ET & “Pure Opelka” Saturdays 6–9 a.m. ET, only on TheBlaze Radio Network.