Community members still reeling from the shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a federal agent confronted police officers in riot gear early Thursday after city officials removed makeshift barricades they had erected near the site where her car crashed into a utility pole.
“Whose streets? Our streets!” they chanted as police sought to clear the area around Portland Avenue and E. 33rd and 34th streets for traffic. Still, every neighbor interviewed by Sahan Journal said they understood the need to balance safety and access with the significance of the memorial.
One neighbor who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect his privacy said he was awakened at 3:53 a.m. by flashing police lights and noise outside. Looking out his window, he said he saw dozens of police officers and city workers loading wooden crates and pallets used as barricades into dump trucks. Firefighters were also on scene, extinguishing fires burning in barrels, he said.
The barricades had been unattended at that hour, where community members had earlier gathered to play music and distribute food. The neighbor said he counted at least 40 officers.
“They come sweeping when there’s nobody there to quickly get it out,” he said. “But these are kind of extenuating circumstances. I am thankful I can move my car out and do stuff I need to do, but I see where the citizens are coming; they’re concerned and angry, and rightfully so.” He added that he had moved to the block just a day before the shooting.
City officials said the barricades posed safety concerns. “Blocking streets is a serious concern for fire and emergency medical response because it can delay response times and restrict access for emergency vehicles,” the city said in a statement. The statement added that nearby residents had raised concerns about access, and that 311 had received numerous calls requesting the barriers be removed.
“The City will not remove the memorial created and maintained by community members,” the statement said. “We will continue to keep the area around these memorials clear and clean for the benefit of all.”
Police officer Kelly O’Rourke said officers were responding to many calls from residents of the block. “We’ve been through this before. These people don’t want to lose their home to permanent encampments. We want to [be able to] respect the memorial and mourn a loss,” O’Rourke told Sahan Journal.
City officials and MPD later placed traffic cones and yellow tape along the lane adjacent to the memorial, allowing vehicles to pass while keeping the memorial intact.
At the memorial, Abigail Riley confronted officers while holding her 6-year-old daughter’s hand. “I was really confused why the barriers were gone this morning,” Riley told Sahan Journal. “I got really emotional and really upset and when the cops got out I just started screaming.” Riley said she brought her son’s old crib to add to the barricades Thursday.
Her daughter attends Minneapolis Public Schools, which canceled classes Thursday and Friday after U.S. Border Patrol agents detained a Roosevelt High School staff member — a U.S. citizen — outside the school on Wednesday. “I wanted to bring her to the vigil to show this is how we show up as a community, this is how we grieve,” Riley said.
“This is a sacred space,” said Celeste Terry, a neighbor who grew up in South Minneapolis. She was at the memorial with her friend and neighbor Jonathan McGee, who said that even though he understood the importance of the site, a memorial similar to George Floyd Square on Portland Avenue would be “very disruptive to traffic” as it is a major thoroughfare.
“It hurts my heart that the barriers were removed because it’s not far from George Floyd Square,” said Brandon Kirk, who also grew up in the neighborhood. “We’re not discouraged because they did the same thing with George Floyd Square and we put it back up.” Kirk said he envisions a similar memorial for Good, including a street named in her honor.
Not all neighbors supported the barricades. A resident who lives across from the memorial confronted protesters. “We can’t sleep, do you understand? ” she said. “They are trying to let traffic through. I don’t want traffic blocked. I don’t want an autonomous zone. I don’t want this.” She added, “ICE is all over the neighborhood right now. This isn’t the place to protest.”
Later in the day, Somali women distributed tea, sambusas, fry bread, and energy drinks at the site. One of them, who identified herself only by her first name, Sofia, for safety reasons, said she traveled from the suburbs early Thursday morning to attend.
“This is our battle, this started with the president demonizing the Somali community,” she said. “Renee was protecting her neighbors and standing for us all. It’s upon us to show the support of the community.”
A Fire Department official picked up on the sentiment of the crowd after installing the cones and tape along the road. “As you keep saying, these are our streets, so let’s keep it safe for everybody,” he said.
An unexpected structure appeared at one corner of the block: a yurt. The Twin Cities-based Autonomous Yurts Union brought it after community members asked for shelter from the rain while guarding the barricades. Alex Johnson, a volunteer with the group, said they arrived with the yurt around 4 p.m. the previous day. It was removed overnight along with the barricades.
AYU, which has previously supplied yurts to homeless encampments across the city, said it anticipated the city might remove it. Johnson said it probably cost the city more to take it down than it did to build the yurt.
“It was mildly disappointing, as it always is to lose a yurt, but it’s why we do it the way we do it,” he said. “We’re happy to put in the energy, resources, and labour despite the outcome.” If barricades go up again and people need shelter, he said, the group is prepared to return with another yurt.
Correction: An earlier quote from Jonathan McGee on a memorial on Portland Avenue has been updated.
