Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro defended police officers Thursday who had escorted Canadian pop star Justin Beiber while he spray painted a concrete wall on a side wall off a freeway in the early morning.
He said that the authorities acted in a responsible manner, fulfilling their role of guaranteeing the safety of public figures who visit the city, and that things could have gone much worse for Justin Beiber if he had been out there alone without their protection.
MORE: Bogota Police assists Justin Bieber during nightly graffiti outing
“If that boy had gone out alone on the streets of Bogota, and something would have happened, the question would have been very different,” said Petro. “In global effect, not taking care of a public figure like Bieber would have a perverse image for the city.”
In August, 2011, Bogota police shot and killed a young graffiti artist and Bogota native, Diego Felipe Becerra.