Demonstrators protesting the death of Philando Castile had been camped on Summit Avenue outside of the Governor’s Residence for almost three weeks.
Advertisement
The protesters have been in front of the Governor’s Residence since July 6 when a St. Anthony police officer shot and killed 32-year-old Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights. Protesters began to clean up their belongings.
Officers used riot gear and pepper spray to disperse the crowd and move protesters away.
Police called the demonstration an unlawful assembly according to the newspaper. Charges range from disorderly conduct to unlawful assembly to public nuisance.
Castile’s sister, Allysza Castile, briefly spoke to protesters Sunday, saying she loved them.
Rachel Goligoski, left, listens to Henry Lippman sing “We Shall Not Be Moved”, with sisters Zora Harut and Zede Harut, right, on the corner of Oxford Street and Summit Avenue in St. Paul, Minn. on Wednesday, July 27, 2016. Around 23 people were arrested at 2 a.m. after about 45 were arrested hours earlier.
Costs associated with protests in St. Paul over the shooting death of a black motorist by a suburban police officer have risen to $1.5 million. “They can not continue to get away with this and not expect the people to rise up”, President of the NAACP Minneapolis Nekima Levy Pounds told reporters.
Police spokesman Steve Linders told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the demonstrators were told they could remain on the sidewalk, but they won’t be allowed to block the sidewalk or the street. Arrests are “a last resort for us”, said St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell. Another protestor, Jacob Ladda, told the Star Tribune that the police were “trying to strip us of our well-being” and “using intimidation tactics rather than legal tactics”. The street was reopened by 11 a.m. “I got here 10 minutes before all hell broke loose”, she said.
One demonstrator yelled: ‘Don’t resist arrest!’ as officers began clearing Summit Avenue.
“We intend to keep it closed until it is safe to reopen”, Linders said.
Gov. Mark Dayton, who is in Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention, has said protesters were welcome to stay outside his residence as long as they wanted.
Advertisement
Dayton did not request Tuesday’s police action; it was the decision of the St. Paul police department, said spokesman Sam Fettig.
