In downtown Minneapolis this evening, police say a man shot and killed another man and then shot and killed himself while police were pursuing. This may well be true. Police actions following this are unacceptable— again, and maybe will be noticed when not overshadowed by police murdering someone outright.
Minneapolis police, instead of heroically protecting a Target and another store that have reportedly gotten windows smashed (if their excuse for existing is protecting property), have:
- kettled (cut off from leaving) parts of the crowds
- maced people
- fired rubber-tipped bullets (baton rounds, also known as kinetic impact projectiles, less lethal alternative to bullets)
And now they have declared “unlawful assembly”, after their violence has antagonized protesters and gawkers and people-who-just-happened-to-be-there alike, which is often a prelude to mass arrests.
This is police escalation and indiscriminate violence, not de-escalation, protecting of lives, or any reasonable thing they could be doing.