Detectives have released images of 15 people they want to trace over the Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol in which the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston was toppled and thrown into the harbour. Avon and Somerset police published the images of the men and women, arguing that in law, a crime – criminal damage – had been committed and it had no choice but to investigate. The force also said it had consulted with the Crown Prosecution Service about its investigation. The move is bound to be divisive. There have been strong calls from some UK politicians for those who hauled the statue down and threw it into the water to be prosecuted and criticism of the police for standing by as it took place. But others, including the mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, have praised the police’s softly-softly approach on the day. While saying he could not condone criminal damage, Rees called the attack on the statue “a piece of historical poetry.” In a statement released on Monday morning, Avon and Somerset police said: “We’re appealing for the public’s help to identify a number of people we’d like to speak to as part of our investigation into the criminal damage caused to the statue of Edward Colston. “The statue was pulled from its plinth and rolled into Bristol harbour at around 2.30pm on Sunday 7 June during a Black Lives Matter demonstration.” Det Supt Liz Hughes said: “The incident attracted worldwide attention and there’s no denying it has polarised public opinion – but in the eyes of the law a crime has been committed and we’re duty-bound to investigate this without fear or favour. “I’d like to reassure people we’re carrying out a thorough, fair and proportionate investigation and have sought early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.” The police had earlier appealed for people who were involved to come forward and said it did not want to publish images of those it wanted to speak to. Hughes added: “A significant number of inquiries have already been carried out, including the examination of the large amount of footage and photographs which have circulated online and on social media, as well as footage from the network of CCTV cameras in and around the city centre and harbourside. “As a result of those inquiries, we’ve isolated images of 18 people we want to speak to. We’ve carried out a number of inquiries to try to establish who these people are in the hope we wouldn’t need to release their images into the public domain and have managed to identify a small number who we’re making arrangements with to get their account of events. “However, despite every effort being made to identify the remaining people we’d like to talk to, we still don’t know who they are, which is why we’re now releasing images of them in the hope the public can help. “Some of the images are not as clear as we’d like, and some of those we want to identify are wearing masks, but we’re confident someone will know them and be able to provide us with their name.”