In December, the Salt Lake City Council voted to rezone the Fleet Block, a 10-acre, city-owned property between 300 and 400 West and between 800 and 900 South. This is the same block where wall panels have been painted to depict the faces of victims of police brutality.

It started in May of 2020 with the faces of George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police, and Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal, who was fatally shot by Salt Lake City police.

It has grown to include several more local victims, including Cody Belgard and Bryan Pena Valencia.

Families and friends often leave flowers beneath each mural, using it as a memorial. And the importance of this site was evident at a vigil held there last month by the Utah Chapter of Black Lives Matter, in anticipation of the murals' demolition this week.

The vigil included family members of the victims, who have asked the city to create a permanent memorial to honor their loved ones and to draw attention to the ongoing problem of police brutality. The vigil also included the west side Brown Berets of Salt Lake Valley, who spearheaded the "Justice For Bernardo" movement to end police brutality in SLC during the George Floyd-inspired protests of 2020.

According to Campaign Zero—a research-based platform on public safety beyond policing—Black people in 2020 were killed more disproportionately by the police in Utah than in any other state, and 2024 was the deadliest year for police violence nationwide.

Qiru Cantua, a Beret member, said the Fleet Block site is a place to honor the victims of police brutality and a reminder to Utah's police departments, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill and Mayor Erin Mendenhall that the people created and occupied this space during a historical time.

"These murals also served as a continuous reminder that, until we abolish the police and the prison-industrial complex and replace them with alternatives to punishment and imprisonment, we will always see our people tortured and killed by the police," Cantua said.

The Brown Berets have called for a reduction of police budgets. And Cantua said that reallocating police funding toward community resources, like mental health services and other alternatives to incarceration, is part of reimaging what "safety" looks like for all members of the community.

"The people will never be safe from an institution that draws its authority from violence," she added.

The highly visible location of the Police Brutality murals drew attention to an ongoing problem, sparked conversations and added to the search for solutions. The city has committed to creating a permanent memorial as part of its redevelopment of the Fleet Block, which will also include some of the only green space in the Granary District. Plans for that memorial have not yet been disclosed and, hopefully, it will be just as bold as what it seeks to replace.