National magazines and recording artists like Chris Brown posted condolences on social media about his death.



Mcleod and others like Brian Gaughan, who owns Spinelli's Pizzeria, helped raise $17,000 to handle Brown's funeral costs.



His peers turned to paint, not the internet to share their love for Brown. But to Josh White, the director of the Louisville Graffiti Abatement Coalition, that act of love is still a crime.



"We don't just have people in town doing this," White said. "I think that they loved him, but this is a totally unacceptable way of showing you love somebody by going and causing thousands of dollars of damage."



White is currently working on a program to help reduce graffiti in the city by replacing jail time with community service and graffiti cleanup.



"If we think that throwing someone in jail and then fining them $1,000, they're going to get out of jail and say 'hmm, I'm not going to do that anymore, that sucked'," White said. "We've seen completely the opposite."



Brown's friends said the program wouldn't work and anyone as passionate as Brown would keep painting.



Criminal or artist, Brown left a literal mark - and not just on Louisville.



"He's a humble self-made guy from Louisville, Kentucky which doesn't have a huge graffiti scene and he made a worldwide impact with his art," Mcleod said.



Right now, graffiti damage below $500 is a misdemeanor, and above that, it's a felony.



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