Several businesses near the location where George Floyd died are suing the city for a lack of policing in the area, according to the Associated Press.
The lawsuit, filed in mid-November, accuses police of blocking off the area, called “George Floyd Square,” for over a year with concrete barriers, which turned the area into a hotspot for violent crime, according to the AP. Criminals know “the area lacks police protection,” the lawsuit alleges, and businesses are seeking $1.5 million in damages. (RELATED: ‘BLM At School’ Shares Pro-Palestinian Teaching Guides To Mobilize Kids In ‘Daily Struggle’ Against Israel)
“The mayor, the city, the city council, and the Minneapolis Police Department collectively agreed to severely limit police response in the barricaded area surrounding plaintiffs’ businesses,” the lawsuit reads, according to the AP.
It also says that police only responded to the most serious calls and actively avoided the area.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – MAY 25: People gather at the George Floyd Square memorial on May 25, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
“Criminals know the area lacks police protection, and they have now made the area so dangerous that it has become known as the ‘No Go Zone,'” the lawsuit reads, according to the AP.
The businesses suing include Cup Foods, where Floyd allegedly tried to use a counterfeit $20 that led to his encounter with the police, the AP reported. The other businesses include a tobacco shop and an investment business, and all are owned by the same family.
Minneapolis offered support for businesses in response to the civil unrest after Floyd’s death and the COVID-19 pandemic, a spokesperson for the city told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The services included COVID-19 forgivable loans, enhanced technical assistance and connections to external resources, including various relief funds.
Minneapolis also made a $1.5M investment in forgivable loans exclusively for businesses located in and near George Floyd Square, the spokesperson continued.
Protests rocked the U.S. in May 2020 after video circulated online of former officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in April 2021.
The Supreme Court declined on Nov. 20 to hear an appeal of Chauvin’s case.
The city has no comment on the pending lawsuit, the spokesperson told the DCNF.
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