Some same it’s distrust in the system. Others say it’s people hijacking the message.
How did a rumor that Minneapolis police shot a homicide suspect — which police countered by releasing surveillance video showing he shot himself — lead to people breaking windows downtown and looting businesses? Minneapolis City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison said people’s assumption that officers killed the man, who was Black, “is rooted in a steep distrust.” “Seeing windows broken and items stolen can be beyond frustrating, especially when all that rage was sparked (this time) by misinformation,” he wrote late Wednesday on Twitter. “But so often our policing institutions have themselves been the source of misinformation. We forfeited our goodwill and this is the ugly cost.” The destruction Wednesday night and early Thursday came as Minneapolis and St. Paul businesses continue to try to recover from widespread looting, vandalism and arson that happened in the days after George Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25. Officials said Thursday they understand the killing of Floyd brought anguish, especially to the Black community, but they said what happened Wednesday was lawlessness and not about protest over Floyd’s death. Other leaders, however, said there is a connection between unrest and systemic inequities. Here are the voices of some of the people who spoke out at press conferences or on social media Wednesday and Thursday: “We have to acknowledge it is absolutely possible to hold the idea that we need to do better on systemic racism, we need to do better on the issues that have led to issues like Jacob Blake (who was shot by a Kenosha, Wis., officer) and George Floyd. “But we can also say we can’t live in a society where lawless, reckless behavior puts businesses and people at risk.… Instead of having to figure out after these things, let’s go back upstream and figure out what the causes of these are, let’s go back upstream to prevent them.
