MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis police and city workers cleared a homeless encampment in the area of East 28th Street and Bloomington Avenue, sparking complaints and protests by encampment supporters on social media. 

The city issued a statement saying the decision to clear the encampment was made in collaboration with the property owner, and that city’s Homeless Response Team had reached out to the encampment residents to warn them about the impending closure and connect them to city services.  

“Closing an unsanctioned encampment is not the city’s first course of action. Encampment closure will occur when conditions become dangerous or encampment residents refuse to engage in the services that will change their circumstances,” the statement read. 

Flannery Clark, 39, has lived in the Corcoran neighborhood for eight years. She said she was biking down the Greenway with her 4-year-old son when police directed her to go the wrong way down 28th Street. 

“They told me to go the wrong way on two different streets and told me ‘Look, it isn’t a big deal, it’s just a couple of blocks of closure,” she told FOX 9. 

She added that she has run into similar scenarios with biking with her son in the area. 

“Second encampment sweep we’ve biked into on the preschool run in the past 5 months. The sweeps are inhumane; these are our neighbors,” she said. 

A FOX 9 photojournalist observed a city-operated front-end loader clearing tents and debris while more than a dozen officers stood guard. 

Police had cordoned several blocks, and people watched from an overpass on the Greenway. From where the photojournalist was standing by the south side of the operation, the scene seemed peaceful with no visible confrontations. Several witnesses reported on social media that officers threw away residents’ belongings, including clothing and medicine. 

Cristin Crabtree, like many other Minneapolis residents, took to Twitter to criticize the city’s clearing of the encampment.   

The city’s full statement is below: 

“Today, City crews closed an encampment on private property at 28th & Bloomington in collaboration with the property owner. The City aims to proactively respond to the needs of unsheltered individuals in the City of Minneapolis.  In collaboration with partner organizations, street outreach teams, harm reduction workers and Hennepin County staff, our work connects unsheltered residents to services. Encampments are illegal and create tremendous health and safety risks to the unsheltered residents and the surrounding community. 

“Through a collaborative cross-departmental and multi-agency effort, we address unsanctioned encampments as well as individual tents.  This is informed by best practices, a humancentric focused and driven by data. Closing an unsanctioned encampment is not the City’s first course of action. Encampment closure will occur when conditions become dangerous or encampment residents refuse to engage in the services that will change their circumstances. Notice of trespass and Notice to vacate the premises has posted by the property owner well in advance of disbursement.  In addition, the Homeless Response Team provides information to those living at an encampment and connections to services are made before the closure occurs.”