Minneapolis: Anger over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man in police custody, spread Thursday beyond Minneapolis. There were looting and fires in many places. The city was also gripped by incidents of violence protests. It was the third consecutive night of violent protests following George Floyd’s death Monday.
In footage recorded by a bystander, Floyd can be seen pleading that he can’t breathe as officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, kneels on his neck. As minutes pass by, Floyd slowly stops talking and moving.
Dozens of businesses establishments here were boarding up their windows and doors Thursday. This was being done to prevent looting. Minneapolis-based ‘Target’ announced it was temporarily closing two dozen area stores. Minneapolis shut down nearly its entire light-rail system and all bus service till Sunday out of safety concerns.
In St Paul, clouds of smoke hung in the air as police armed with batons and wearing gas masks and body armour kept a watchful eye on protesters. Firefighters were seen dousing small fires. At one point, officers stood in line in front of a Target store. They were trying to keep out looters, who were also smashing windows of other businesses.
In another development, a band playing in a parking lot across from the police’s 3rd Precinct, the focus of the protests, broke into a punk version of Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’. Nearby, demonstrators carried clothing mannequins from a looted ‘Target’ store and threw them onto a burning car. Later, a building fire erupted nearby.
But elsewhere here, thousands of peaceful demonstrators marched through the streets calling for justice.
Earlier Thursday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called in the National Guard to try to stem the violence.
Floyd’s death has deeply shaken Minneapolis and sparked protests in cities across the US. Local leaders have repeatedly urged demonstrators to avoid violence.
“Please stay home. Please do not come here to protest. Please keep the focus on George Floyd, on advancing our movement and on preventing this from ever happening again,” tweeted St Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, who is black.
Erika Atson, 20, was among thousands of people who gathered outside government offices in downtown Minneapolis, where organizers had called a peaceful protest. Many protesters wore masks because of the coronavirus pandemic, but there were few attempts at social distancing.
Atson, who is black, described seeing her 14- and 11-year-old brothers tackled by Minneapolis police years ago because officers mistakenly presumed the boys had guns. She said she had been at ‘every single protest’ since Floyd’s death. She asserted she is worried about raising children who could be vulnerable in police encounters.
“We don’t want to be here fighting against anyone. We don’t want anyone to be hurt. We don’t want to cause any damages,” Atson said.“We just want the police officer to be held accountable,” she added.
Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson said the rally had been peaceful and there had been no arrests by late Thursday evening.
Much of the Minneapolis violence occurred in the Longfellow neighborhood. Protesters converged on the precinct station of the police who arrested Floyd. In a strip mall across the street from the 3rd Precinct station, windows in nearly every business establishment had been smashed. Only the 24-hour laundromat appeared to have escaped unscathed.
“WHY US?” demanded a large expanse of red graffiti scrawled on the wall of the Target. A Wendy’s restaurant across the street was charred almost beyond recognition.
AP