Drug spoon sculpture placed outside drugmaker headquarters

An 800-pound sculpture, titled "Purdue," created by artist Domenic Esposito is displayed outside the Connecticut headquarters of drugmaker Purdue Pharma, Friday, June 22, 2018, in Stamford, Conn. The sculpture was inspired to create by Esposito's brother's battle with addiction. Several state and local governments are suing Purdue Pharma for allegedly using deceptive marketing to boost sales of its opioid painkiller OxyContin, blamed for opioid overdose deaths. (Susan Dunne/Hartford Courant via AP)

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — An 800-pound, nearly 11-foot-long steel sculpture of a bent and burned drug spoon was placed Friday in front of the Connecticut headquarters of drugmaker Purdue Pharma as part of an art protest against the opioid crisis.

Artist Domenic Esposito and art gallery owner Fernando Alvarez dropped the sculpture at the company's Stamford headquarters. Police arrested Alvarez on a minor charge of obstructing free passage. A city worker removed the spoon with a payloader and it was hauled to a police evidence holding area.