Minn. police clear shooting protest camp

MINNEAPOLIS — Police in Minneapolis early Thursday tore down a protest camp set up following the shooting of a black man by police.

Protesters watched as officers started clearing the site, in the Fourth Precinct, around 4 a.m.  Police first handed out eviction notices and asked protesters to leave before they cleared the area, according to Police Chief Janee' Harteau.

Harteau said the majority of protesters complied with police, but eight people were arrested after they refused to leave on their own.

Police said that structures and fires were not allowed on city property and would not be permitted because they impeded traffic and access to the precinct.

The camp was set up following the death of Jamar Clark, 24, who family members said was shot in a scuffle with officers on Nov. 15. He died the next day. Police say he was a suspect in a domestic assault and interfered with paramedics who responded to the scene. The police union has said Clark was grabbing for an officer's gun during an altercation, while witnesses and activists maintain he was in handcuffs when Clark was shot in the head.

Police said that officers located in the Fourth Precinct have had slower response times since protesters began camping out in front of the Fourth Precinct police station.

The response time for officers has jumped to 6 minutes 17 seconds — a 16% slowdown.

“It was time," Mayor Betsy Hodges said on Thursday. "We have been balancing the safety needs of the precinct with the right for people to protest and have voices heard, but the increasing safety risks and impact on the neighborhood and ability to provide service to the city made this morning the time to act.”

People in the neighborhood were upset about noise, vandalism and blocked streets around the encampment. Many voiced their concerns at a City Council safety committee meeting Wednesday. Hodges, Harteau and other city leaders called earlier this week for the demonstration to end.

"We certainly have been doing extensive monitoring of the protests, looking at time of day, what would be the best time for everyone involved, when we have the best resources, so it was very strategic in how we did it with those things in mind," Harteau said.

On Twitter, protesters used the hashtag #4thPrecinctShutDown to share images of police tearing down the camp.

Some noted that many police were wearing riot gear as they cleared the protest camp.

A spokesperson for Black Lives Matter responded to the eviction, calling on all supporters to mass outside City Hall on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. Harteau said police will continue to support the right of citizens to protest and demonstrate, but cautioned that the situation has moved into a new chapter.

"I do want to make notice to future protests ... we will continue to support and facilitate your First Amendment rights and freedom of speech, but we also support and enforce the ordinances of the city of Minneapolis and the laws of the state of Minnesota," Harteau said. "And that includes such things as putting up tents, fires, and blocking streets for extended periods of time and not allowing folks to get through. We will not allow structures or what we see as the beginning of an occupation."