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Businesses at George Floyd Square sue Minneapolis – again
The owners argue that the city’s failure to address deterioration and crime in the neighborhood has ruined their businesses. They are asking for $30M in damages.
MINNEAPOLIS — Several business owners at the struggling corner where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020 are suing the city to demand it take over their properties and compensate them.
The owners of the Cup Foods convenience store and other businesses operating near 38th Street and Chicago Avenue argue that the city’s failure to address deterioration and crime in the neighborhood has ruined their businesses and constitutes an unlawful taking of their property without just compensation, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported Thursday. They’re seeking $30 million in damages.
The area, now known as George Floyd Square, has become a place of pilgrimage for social justice supporters from across the country, and the store has renamed itself Unity Foods. But business owners say they haven’t benefitted, while activists and officials remain divided over how to transform the intersection while keeping it as a permanent memorial.
Floyd died after a white officer pinned his neck to the pavement outside Cup Foods for 9 1/2 minutes despite the Black man’s pleas of “I can’t breathe.” The ensuing protests, which turned violent at times, tested the leadership of Gov. Tim Walz at one of the state’s most consequential moments, and sparking a nationwide reckoning over racism and police misconduct. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder.
The legal action, filed last week in Hennepin County District Court, argues that the businesses have lost revenue, real estate value, reputation, and tenant and rental income. It argues that the city’s decisions led to higher crime and created a “no go zone” for police in the area. It replaces an earlier lawsuit by the businesses that was dismissed two months ago.
Michael Healey, the lawyer representing the businesses, told the Star Tribune there are two possible outcomes. The businesses “could conceivably keep the property if a settlement is reached with the city on the diminished value,” he said. The other possibility is that the city could begin the process of taking the properties and compensating the owners.
A city spokesperson said in a statement that while it can’t comment on pending litigation, the city “understands the challenges that residents and businesses have confronted in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.“
MINNEAPOLIS — Riding the light rail or Metro Transit bus is going to be the same price all day next year.
Starting Jan. 1, fares on all non-express buses and the light rail will be $2 “all day, every day,” according to a Metro Transit news release. Youth, seniors, and Medicare recipients will be able to ride for $1.
The change comes as Metro Transit General Manager Lesley Kandaras says they want to support the belief that “cost should not be a barrier for those who want or need access to our services.”
“Making transit easier to use is key to growing ridership, and we believe simplifying fares will help do just that,” Kandaras said in the news release.
Ridership is up at Metro Transit, with officials saying that there has been an 8% increase through the end of September compared to the same time last year.
Metro Transit added in the news release that they are preparing its first systemwide upgrade of fare collection equipment, and will eventually let rides purchase fares by tapping their phones or cards.
The county now has until Dec. 5 to lower its inmate population, after the state placed the jail’s license on conditional status.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Department of Corrections granted an extension Thursday for Hennepin County to reduce its jail population in the Adult Detention Center, just hours after the state’s original deadline expired.
The extension will give Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt until Dec. 5 to lower the jail population to 600 inmates.
Citing a failure to conduct adequate well-being checks and staffing shortages, the state placed the jail’s license on conditional status on Oct. 31. According to county data, there were 723 people incarcerated at Hennepin County facilities as of Thursday, both in City Hall jail space and the Public Safety Facility across the street. That means the county still needs to relocate 123 inmates to comply with the state’s order. (An additional 155 people from Hennepin County have already been annexed to other facilities).
James Stuart, the executive director of the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association, criticized the state for setting an unrealistic deadline on Hennepin County.
“The Sheriff was making good faith efforts to move toward remedial fixes,” Stuart said in an interview. “We’re looking to relocate hundreds of incarcerated individuals into locations where there aren’t necessarily available beds, and on top of that, it creates challenges to get them to their court appearances, it takes them away from their defense attorneys, takes them away from their families as they get placed all over the state. It’s a very difficult situation.”
According to documents submitted to the state, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office already has agreements with five counties — Carver, Chisago, Scott, Washington and Wright — to help them house incarcerated people. Wright County has taken on the largest share so far, with 89 Hennepin County inmates currently staying there. Hennepin County is also in talks with 14 other counties to finalize agreements, although the sheriff’s office noted that this process “may take several weeks to accomplish.” Given that delay, plus medical screening requirements for relocated inmates, the sheriff’s office argued it needs more time to comply with the state’s request.
Hennepin County has also transferred some inmates internally, taking them from the jails to the Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility in Plymouth, better known as the “workhouse.”
Earlier this week, Hennepin County Commissioner Kevin Anderson said he’s confident the county will be able to reach the state’s limit eventually, by utilizing both workhouse space and neighboring counties’ facilities.
“I really believe in the Sheriff’s ability to manage through this,” Anderson said. “We’re not in an easy situation but we’re going to work through it.”
The overcrowding issues are not unique to Hennepin County. Across the country, the combination of COVID-19, the opioid crisis, law enforcement staffing challenges, and other factors have placed an enormous strain on corrections systems.
Alicia Granse, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Minnesota, said long wait times for mental health facilities are also causing issues within jails.
“A hundred days of sitting in jail, maybe even longer, waiting to go get the treatment you need,” Granse said.
County data shows that inmates have remained in custody for a median of 33 days, or slightly longer than a month. The longest stay in custody is listed at 713 days — roughly two years.
“Hennepin County needs to take care of that,” Granse said, “immediately.”
The off-duty officer crashed into a vacant building at 3rd Street E and Maple Street on August 1, authorities said.
ST PAUL, Minn — A St. Paul Police officer is charged with driving while intoxicated after a crash this summer into a building that caught fire.
The crash happened around midnight on Aug. 1 at the corner of 3rd Street E and Maple Street, officials said. That’s in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood.
The driver, Bryan McKinnon, is a St. Paul Police Officer who was not on duty at the time. When responding officers arrived at the crash, Minnesota State Patrol was requested to take over the DWI investigation to avoid a conflict of interest, charging documents state.
When a trooper asked McKinnon what happened before the crash, charging documents allege McKinnon said he lost control of the vehicle. When asked if he had anything to drink before driving, he said he had two beers. The criminal complaint states McKinnon did not want to do a breathalyzer test, but a warrant was signed for a blood draw, which showed he had a blood alcohol limit of .178.
“This incident is deeply concerning and does not reflect or align with the values of our department or the expectations we have of each other or the people we serve,” said St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry in August. “We are cooperating with the Minnesota State Patrol’s investigation and are following our internal policies and procedures.”
According to the criminal complaint the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case on a conflicts basis.
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