Cheering protesters torched a Minneapolis police station Thursday that the department was forced to abandon as three days of violent protests spread to nearby St. Paul and angry demonstrations flared across the U.S over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer kneeled on his neck.
A police spokesman confirmed late Thursday that staff had evacuated the 3rd Precinct station, the focus of many of the protests, “in the interest of the safety of our personnel” shortly after 10 p.m. Livestream video showed the protesters entering the building, where fire alarms blared and sprinklers ran as blazes were set. Protesters could be seen setting fire to a Minneapolis Police Department jacket and cheering.
Late Thursday, President Donald Trump blasted the “total lack of leadership” in Minneapolis. “Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” he said on Twitter.
Today on AirTalk, we look at the latest with protests in Minneapolis and locally in Los Angeles. We want to hear how you’re feeling. Please call 866-893-5722 to share your thoughts.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Liz Sawyer, reporter covering crime and corrections for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune; she tweets
Frank Stoltze, KPCC correspondent who covers criminal justice and public safety issues’’ he tweets
Jody Armour, professor of law at USC; he tweets