Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says the city’s 3rd Police Precinct was ordered to be evacuated late Thursday to avoid ‘hand-to-hand combat’ with rioters who later stormed the building and set it on fire.
In an interview with WCCO Friday, Frey claimed that he and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo also believed that vacating the building would ‘deescalate the situation’ and stop police from being ‘overwhelmed’.
He also furiously denied claims from cops that he was ‘content with letting the city be overrun’.
‘We are a police force totaling over 800 officers with far, far less than that on active duty at a given time. Simply by the numbers, we were going to be overwhelmed. It’s a matter of math, not planning,’ Frey stated.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says the city’s 3rd Police Precinct was ordered to be evacuated late Thursday to avoid ‘hand-to-hand combat’ with rioters who later stormed the building and set it on fire
Protesters stand on a barricade in front of the police building which was set on fire Thursday night after being evacuated by officers
Mayor Jacob Frey furiously denied claims from cops that he was ‘content with letting the city be overrun’
Last officers left the 3rd Precinct around 10pm Thursday, although most were already out patrolling the city during a third night of protests over the death of black man George Floyd.
‘Our resources were beyond tapped. We had around 30 – 50 priority 1 calls that weren’t being responded to at any given moment, on top of what was happening. We were overwhelmed. Every available officer was out,’ Frey claimed.
Images of rioters setting fire to the 3rd Police Precinct were beamed around the world Friday, symbolizing a city out of control.
Several people were pictured inside the building, roaming through its corridors with baseball bats, axes and torches while scrawling graffiti on the walls.
Last officers left the 3rd Precinct around 10pm Thursday, although most were already out patrolling the city during a the third night of protests over the death of black man George Floyd
‘We are a police force totaling over 800 officers with far, far less than that on active duty at a given time. Simply by the numbers, we were going to be overwhelmed’: Protesters would have far outnumbered any officers left inside the precinct
Protesters gathered outside the front of the police precinct as it burned in the background
Protesters are pictured outside the burning police station Thursday One holds a sign which says: ‘I can’t breathe,’ those the words uttered by George Floyd as a police officer knelt on his neck
Protesters gather in front of the police building with all thought of social distancing forgotten, although some are wearing masks
Rioters pile furniture onto a bonfire within the police station last night after the cops evacuated the building at around 10pm
A rioter is seen walking through the police precinct which is filled with debris, its windows shattered and graffiti sprayed on the walls
The photographs prompted an angry reaction from President Trump, who accused ‘Radical Left Mayor’ Frey of showing ‘a total lack of leadership’.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz called the city’s response to the riots an ‘abject failure’.
Speaking with WCCO Friday, Frey hit back, stating: ‘Pointing fingers in a time of national crisis won’t make anyone safer. I’ve been in near constant-contact with the governor over the last several days, and I look forward to continue working with him.’
WCCO spoke with sources who said officers felt that the ‘directive’ to abandon the Precinct was an indication that Minneapolis officials were resigned to letting the city be ‘overrun’.
Frey told the news network that ‘could not be further from the truth’.
Police eventually used pepper spray and batons to disperse protesters outside the 3rd Precinct when they returned around 4.30am.
A man is seen outside the destroyed Precinct in the early hours of Friday morning
Meanwhile, Minneapolis officials struggled with a fourth night of protests Friday, despite ordering an 8pm curfew for residents. The National Guard were deployed to the streets of the city in an attempt to keep the peace.
Demonstrations have broken out across the United States in anger at the death of Floyd, after he was arrested Memorial Day by four officers who worked at the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct.
Floyd, 46, was arrested for allegedly trying to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill.
He was seen in a video pleading that he couldn’t breathe as white officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against his neck.
Chauvin was arrested Friday and charged with Floyd’s murder.
Floyd’s family has called for a more serious charge to be brought against Chauvin and for the arrests of the other three officers who were fired alongside Chauvin over Floyd’s death – J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao.
George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died on Memorial Day as he was arrested by four police officers over allegedly trying to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. He was seen in a video pleading that he couldn’t breathe as white officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against his neck
George Floyd is pictured. His death has sparked nationwide protests – a number of which have turned violent