Hennepin County Commissioner Irene Fernando said that police removing homeless encampments from neighborhoods is both racist and against CDC guidelines.
“I oppose the eviction of encampments, in keeping with CDC guidance,” Fernando said in a statement after the Minneapolis Police Department broke up a homeless camp located in the Near North neighborhood early Thursday morning.
“MPD’s actions at the Near North encampment, while unrelated to the Chauvin trial, also seem to continue the trend of criminalizing marginalized people while forcibly asserting control over physical spaces,” she continued.
Instead of removing homeless camps, Fernando wants MPD to “end the practice of employing force to traumatize and displace our unhoused neighbors.”
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s daughter, Isra Hirsi, posted a video of the force MPD employed. The 30-second clip lacks context, but appears to show police engaged in a scuffle with a couple of men on a sidewalk near the camp.
TW Police Brutality
Today MPD woke up and chose to brutalize innocent people for defending the Near North houseless encampment in Minneapolis. Please boost and support them as much as you can, @NNmutualaid. More action items below. pic.twitter.com/9HSNLpXCfZ
— isra hirsi (@israhirsi) March 18, 2021
The situation may have been inflamed by protesters who attempted to impede police from dismantling the camp. At one point, the demonstrators obstructed a roadway with dumpsters and a woman “jumped on the back of an officer and began to choke him” as 25-30 people were “actively challenging officers,” MPD said in a statement.
“People began walking around the squad cars and one suspect physically attacked an officer. Officers attempted to arrest the attacker who continued to be actively assaultive. Additional suspects surrounded officers as they attempted to arrest the suspect who attacked the officer,” the statement continued.
The department said responding officers, some of whom were “tackled from behind” and “punched in the face,” sent a call to all precincts for backup. Additionally, MPD said it was helping the Minneapolis Health Department clear the camp because of “site contamination, fire hazards, and other health and safety risks.”
Hirsi and others recruited participants for this anti-police action on social media.
STAND WITH NEAR NORTH ✊
No one will be removed or displaced from land that’s already stolen. Fuck the city and the gentrifiers.
Show out for your neighbors tomorrow at 7:30am 🖤 pic.twitter.com/kdQabAiyDK
— Twin Cities Encampment Responders (@TCparkresponder) March 17, 2021
The city’s attempt to remove the camp should not have come as a surprise. A video report about the encampment produced by reporter JD Duggan appears to show an eviction notice and no trespass warning presented at the camp prior to its removal.
The Near North neighborhood that housed the camp experiences about 475% more violent crime than the national average, according to AreaVibes, a statistical aggregation website.
Kyle Hooten
Kyle Hooten is Managing Editor of Alpha News. His coverage of Minneapolis has been featured on television shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and in print media outlets like the Wall Street Journal.
