Police Tear Down Protesters’ Camp In Minneapolis

Those arrested were transported to the Hennepin County Jail for processing.

From City Hall, the group went to a credit union inside the government building, where some wrote phrases such as “Stop funding killer cops” on the windows.

The event, listed as “Sheriff Rich Stanek’s Annual Holiday Reception”, says it ends at 7 p.m.

“They can destroy this, but we will be back”, said Mica Grimm, a Black Lives Matter organizer.

Though the rest of the protesters left peacefully, the Minneapolis chapter of Black Lives Matter immediately took to Facebook calling for a rally at City Hall.

At City Hall that evening, the crowd chanted: “The people united will never be defeated”. You need to quit mismanaging, quit mis-micromanaging the police department, and let people who have experience on how to remove unlawful protesters in. Some community members have alleged that Clark was handcuffed when he was shot, but police dispute this.

Harteau said police began preparations once it became clear demonstrators would not withdraw. Police said that structures and fires are not allowed on city property and will not be permitted if they impede traffic or access to the precinct.

Hodges said she and other city leaders have been having daily conversations with Black Lives Matter leaders and wants to keep the communication channels open.

Levy-Pounds, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas, said the protesters have a list of demands in addition to release of the videos and justice for Clark.

Asked whether more demonstrations or civil disobedience might be part of their strategy for achieving those goals, Levy-Pounds wouldn’t rule them out.

Officials called it a public safety issue.

The camp sprang up after Clark was died on November 16, a day after an altercation with police.

Following in the footsteps of the Occupy Wall Street fiasco, race activists set up the encampment outside the Fourth Precinct police station in north Minneapolis to protest the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark.

Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau said dispersal orders were given to protesters and then police proceeded to clear out the site around 3:45 a.m.

The demonstrators have been camped outside the precinct station for more than two weeks.

Following the eviction, police and public works crews sent in a convoy of heavy equipment to set concrete barriers in front of the precinct station, along with a steel fence on top.

Officers arrived shortly before 4 a.m., according to multiple reports.

They gave the protesters a 10 minute warning before moving in, putting out the small fires and cleaning up tents.

“It is time to pivot to a moment of working together”, Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges told a news conference, describing the protesters’ withdrawal as peaceful.