Creator of 'Buford' says headless, knife-wielding black mannequin not intended to offend

Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press. Gary "Bubba" Couey stands next to "Buford" the mannequin which he assembled on his girlfriends rural Ooltewah, Tenn., property.
Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press. Gary "Bubba" Couey stands next to "Buford" the mannequin which he assembled on his girlfriends rural Ooltewah, Tenn., property.

This has been blown way out of proportion. He didn't mean nothing by it."

A headless black mannequin with a knife in its hand raised eyebrows in a rural corner of Ooltewah Monday - with neighbors concerned the dummy was meant as a racist gesture - but the mannequin's creator said he never intended to offend anyone.

Gary "Bubba" Couey pieced together the mannequin a few days ago from parts he found in an old shed near his home on Smith Lane, he said. He screwed the arms into the shoulders and dressed it in green pants and a black cut-off T-shirt. Because it had no head, Couey slapped an orange wig, helmet and mask on top of the creation, which he named "Buford."

He propped the mannequin up on the back of a trailer in his front yard and stuck a knife in its hand as a finishing touch. Why?

"It just fit in the hand," he said, and grinned.

A neighbor alerted the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and local media to the mannequin this weekend, saying that it was hanging in the front yard and scaring neighbors.

But by Monday afternoon, Couey had moved the mannequin to the base of a tree and propped it up against an old TV. He said the dummy was never hanging, and he never intended to make a racist statement.

"The only reason he is brown is because I have a bunch of camouflage paint around and I just grabbed brown first," he said.

Most neighbors seemed unconcerned with the mannequin, although a couple of people did say it seemed offensive.

"It's stupid," said one neighbor, who asked not to be identified to avoid provoking Couey.

Deputies with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office stopped by twice Monday morning about the mannequin.

"HCSO met with the owner of the property, who advised that she was the owner of the mannequin," spokesman Matt Lea said in a statement. "The property owner was advised the HCSO received a complaint related to the mannequin. The property owner stated that she was unaware that the mannequin was causing concerns and that she would move the mannequin to where it is out of sight."

Couey and his girlfriend, Brandi Rapier, said they may take the mannequin down for a few days or move it to a less prominent spot, since it's caused so much commotion.

"This has been blown way out of proportion," Rapier said. "He didn't mean nothing by it. He puts all sorts of stuff out. He has black friends, you know?"

Couey can't say quite why he fashioned the mannequin in the first place, but he still hopes to put it to good use.

"I was going to put it in the garden to maybe keep the rabbits out," he said.

Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas.

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