Twin Cities wracked by violence
MINNEAPOLIS: The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul continued to convulse yesterday in the wake of the Memorial Day death of George Floyd as he was being restrained by a Minneapolis police officer.
The violence prompted Mayor Jacob Frey to declare a state of emergency.
Framed by grief and rage over Floyd’s death and uncertainty over the Covid19 pandemic, the day came in waves: Buildings burned. The police chief apologised. Prayer circles formed at the site of Floyd’s killing. Business owners boarded up windows. Post offices closed.
The blazes included one at the Third Police Precinct station, the epicentre of the three nights of demonstrations, after crowds of protesters broke in and set fires inside and behind the building.
Governor Tim Walz called in reinforcements, the first time the Minnesota National Guard has been activated for a civil disturbance in 34 years.
More than 500 Guard members have been activated and sent to Minneapolis, St Paul and other communities, the Guard said in a tweet yesterday.
County and federal prosecutors expressed disgust at Floyd’s killing while pleading for the public's patience as they conduct an investigation and mull whether to charge Derek Chauvin, the police officer whose knee was pressed to Floyd’s neck as he died, or the other three officers present.
The Hennepin county medical examiner mirrored that call for patience, saying an autopsy to determine a cause and manner for Floyd’s death cannot be rushed, even as protesters demanded that Chauvin be charged with murder.
The Minneapolis Third Precinct police station was evacuated last night and then was engulfed in flames. Protesters cheered and lit fireworks to celebrate.
‘‘I will not rush justice,’’ Hennepin county attorney Mike Freeman said yesterday.
‘‘We have to do this right. We have to prove this in a court of law . . . Please: Give me and give the United States attorney the time to do this right, and we will bring you justice , I promise.’’
Floyd’s killing quickly has turned into an international story and a White House spokeswoman called the death ‘‘absolutely tragic’’.
The attorneygeneral was briefing President Donald Trump.
In the Twin Cities, yesterday felt like a continued push and pull between city and state authorities pleading for calm and protesters fed up with the systemic racism they believe Floyd’s killing represents.
As the sun rose, buildings still smouldered from fires lit during violent protests the night before. Near the corner of E. Lake St and Minnehaha Ave — across the street from the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct headquarters, the protests’ epicentre — a Wendy's restaurant was gone. So was a sixstorey affordablehousing apartment building still in the middle of construction. A burnedout AutoZone store was a husk of its former self.
Glimmers of hope appeared as scores of community members showed up in the Lake St Target parking lot for a massive cleanup. National civil rights leaders appeared at protests: Jesse Jackson sported a sign saying, ‘‘Cowards kill the unarmed,’’ while Al Sharpton met with local leaders and protesters.
But by afternoon, rioting and looting had spread across the
Mississippi River to St Paul.
As the violence spread, Walz activated the National Guard, buttressed by 200 additional troopers from the State Patrol, in an attempt to quell the violent unrest.
Mayor Frey repeated his calls for assistance from the National Guard, and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo promised to work with local community leaders in hopes of keeping the protests more peaceful.
‘‘It is time to rebuild. Rebuild the city, rebuild our justice system, and rebuild the relationship between law enforcement and those they’re charged to protect,’’ Walz said. — TCA
❛ Please: Give me and give the United States attorney the
time to do this right, and we will bring you justice