The Neighborhood Reporter

08/06/2022

Welcome back to The Neighborhood Reporter! Over the next couple of days, we will be highlighting a few of the candidates running for Hennepin County Attorney, starting with Saraswati Singh (Saraswati Singh for Hennepin County Attorney 2022).

Singh brings experience from the MN Attorney General’s Office, the district and appellate court as well as the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Stay tuned and get to know more of the candidates who will be on the ballot for the Aug 9 primary.

07/08/2021

While covering the vigil for Ricardo in Olivia, We experienced something we had never seen before. The very same minute that Torres’ girlfriend was asking the crowd not to engage in any kind of violence or antagonistic behavior, her voice was slowly drowned out by the loud revving of engines in the street nearby. When we walked away from the vigil to see what was happening, we were greeted by American Flag clad pickup trucks that were engaged in antagonizing the mourners and leaving piles of smoke in their wake. MN State Troopers arrived a few minutes later and eventually deterred such activity from the “Anti-Activist” group.

07/08/2021

A few hours after dropping off her boyfriend at a friend’s apartment, Natasha Lindner received the call that would change her life forever. Her boyfriend and the father of her child, Ricardo Torres Jr. had been killed by a police officer in Olivia, Minnesota. It was a walk Ricardo made regularly, behind the alley of a local apartment building. In the early hours of July 4th, that walk turned fatal when he encountered officer Aaron Clause of the Olivia City Police Department.
The official press release from the city of Olivia states the officer was “confronted by an armed individual” and after an “altercation”, the officer discharged their weapon, resulting in the death of Torres.
When she arrived at the scene of the shooting, officers told her that Ricardo had started a confrontation with an officer while wielding a sawed off shotgun. Ultimately they said, the officer was forced to fire on Ricardo, killing him. This version of events immediately sowed doubt in Natasha’s mind. She said officers in the small town had made a habit of harassing her boyfriend and years earlier, officer Clause had tased Ricardo to the ground. It wouldn’t make any sense for Ricardo to randomly attack an officer she told me in a phone call.

Ricardo was known to occasionally carry a pellet gun and this was a fact known to Olivia police department, “I think he was ambushed” she told me. The scene of the shooting has since been turned over to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a partner of law enforcement agencies, the B.C.A. is tasked with investigating all officer involved shootings in Minnesota. Although the initial press release offered very little detail about what led to the shooting, a B.C.A. press release last night said a shotgun was recovered from the scene, while also revealing there was no dash cam or bodycam footage of the incident. Officer Aaron Clause has been placed on standard administrative leave.

The city of Olivia, a near 2 hour drive from Minneapolis is a small community, known as the king of corn. For a population below 2,500, the 5 officers that make up their police department more than suffice. With a social media presence that is dominated by images of lost cats and dogs, the agency seems to be no close acquaintance with controversy. At its best, controversy can be a catalyst for accountability and with no city ordinance requiring body cameras, Natasha is concerned about that potential lack of accountability.

*This is an excerpt from my article on the case of Ricardo Torres Jr*

06/25/2021

Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to served 22.5 years in prison.

The aggravating factors that Judge Cahill took into consideration includes (1) the presence of children (2) abuse of a position of authority & trust and (3) the treatment of George Floyd with particular cruelty.

The trial of officers Lane, Keung and Thao are scheduled to begin in March 2022.

06/17/2021

Community members, activists and organizers gathered in the intersection of Lake & Girard today to celebrate what would have been Deona Marie’s 32nd birthday. The day featured a march through Uptown Minneapolis, speeches from various organizers and birthday festivities.

As the night went on, tension between demonstrators steadily rose. Worried about disruption to the festivities by law enforcement, disagreements about whether to keep putting up barricades or to take them all down broke out. Organizers took down makeshift barriers of caution tape and Saran wrap saying that “the end goal [of the event] was to celebrate Deona’s birthday, not to fight with [law enforcement].”

Despite accommodating law enforcement’s request to keep people off the street, at about midnight, sherriff and MPD officers in full gear issued dispersal orders and made multiple arrests.

Photographer: Tracy Gunapalan

06/15/2021

Two Lives Lost on Lake St

Last night, 31-year-old Deona Marie was killed by a vehicle that sped into a makeshift barricade by Lake & Girard. The man driving was identified as Nicholas Kraus. After trying to flee, protestors detained him until he was apprehended by the police later that night.

Today, organizers and community activists gathered to honor not only her life, but her aspirations of a better world. A vigil organized by Visual Black Justice concluded a day of sorrow, speeches and marches.

Deona Marie was a dedicated activist. Her last Facebook post was about the injustice of Winston Smith’s death.

Photographer: Tracy Gunapalan

06/06/2021

Officers working for the North Star Fugitive Task Force shot and killed Winston Smith on Thursday, June 3rd. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has stated that Deputies working for Hennepin and Ramsey Counties were responsible for the latest officer involved shooting in Minneapolis. The B.C.A. has claimed evidence from the scene of the shooting indicates that Mr. Smith fired his gun from inside the vehicle. However, the B.C.A. also claims that officers serving on the task force were not wearing body cameras and there is no dashcam footage.

Community activists have held a press conference outside of the B.C.A.’s office in St. Paul as well as three nights of consecutive protest at the location of the shooting.

(Pictures feature speakers and quotes from the Friday’s press conference)

05/11/2021

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Nestled into the Longfellow neighborhood and across the street from Adam's Triangle, is AllSquare. A one of a kind sandwich shop, that serves its community i...

04/24/2021

Here's a quick recap of last week's Daunte Wright protests:

04/21/2021

The community fought, the community won.

04/18/2021

A crowd of hundreds was allowed to protest in peace in front of the BCPD. A welcome change after Operation Safety Net leaders made over 100 arrests last night. The cause of those arrests was blamed on an attempted perimeter breach from the protestors. No such activity occurred today.

Freshly barbecued chicken and snacks were made available via the twin cities relief initiative. Music was played and demonstrators were allowed to hold the space in solemn remembrance of Daunte Wright.

Tomorrow marks one week since the young father’s tragic killing. As demands that Kimberly Potter be charged with higher crimes increase, the demonstrations seem destined to continue.

Photographer: Tracy Gunapalan

04/17/2021

A day after calm, chaos ensues.

While law enforcement initially remained at a distance from the fence today, the outcome was not the same as last night. As night fell on the mostly peaceful protest, a moment of relative peace was met with flash-bangs from law enforcement. While symbolically taking a knee for Daunte Wright, the concussive rounds were fired in the air.

There were a determined few who worked to push over the fence. However, others in the crowd successfully stopped them from doing so. These inner conflicts about how to deal with law enforcement seem to be increasing. Night after night, the majority of protestors remain peaceful in honor of Daunte Wright.

During a press conference held by MNOSN, Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington estimates that upwards of 100 people were arrested at tonight’s demonstration.