Journalists & protesters parked at a Kmart say Minneapolis police slashed all their tires

Videos and photos show journalists and protestors returning to find their tires slashed. They say Minneapolis police is responsible.

In a show of force and intimidation, photos and videos posted on Twitter allege that Minneapolis police slashed the tires of protestors and journalists parked at a local Kmart, its location a convenient staging area for protest attendees and those covering the event.

The video tweet getting the most attention comes from journalist Andrew Kimmel. In his video below he does a quick walk-around of his rental Hyundai Kona with all four tires flat and without air. Andrew points his camera at a dozen other cars parked, most not rentals, personal vehicles, all tires slashed and without air.

Included in his timeline are tweets from other journalists who suffered a similar fate.

Minneapolis Police slashed every tire on my rental car, as well as every tire of every car in this parking lot. pic.twitter.com/lchFplYQ0n

— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) May 31, 2020

Des manifestants arrêtés dans ce stationnement ont vu les policiers crever les pneus de tous les véhicules, pensant qu’ils étaient à des manifestants. Le nôtre était là../ pic.twitter.com/KvLHDUoOwk

— Philippe Leblanc (@phil_leblancSRC) May 31, 2020

Now this is weird. Someone pointed out to us all that of the cars in the Kmart parking lot at Nicollet and Lake St. have slashed tires. The group that told us said it was the police or Natl Guard who did it. @WCCO pic.twitter.com/1nv9Rr2wsh

— Jeff Wagner (@Jeff_Wagner4) May 31, 2020

One twitter user submitted video evidence from her live stream claiming her video shows Minneapolis police slashing tires of a parked truck in front of their police line.

‼️THE POLICE SLASHED THIS TRUCKS TIRES‼️ all the protestors left the Kmart area as soon as they got closer. #MinneapolisRiot pic.twitter.com/eTGrHUUZLA

— brandi (@brandiiimariiie) May 31, 2020

Andrew says that, shortly after the protests began, police overtook the area, no one allowed in or out without showing credentials.

For those asking how I know it was the police… police overtook this entire area shortly after the protest began. No protester would’ve been able to get in here after that. I got stopped by National Guard and was able to get through with my press badge. It was the @MinneapolisPD

— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) May 31, 2020

Furthermore, Andrew shows photo evidence of a destroyed medical encampment, also the work of the Minneapolis police. These encampments are supplied with first aid, water, food, milk for tear gas, and other essentials needed for protestors who didn’t come prepared or suffered injuries and need immediate attention.

The police also destroyed the entire medical encampment that was put up in the same parking lot. What a disgrace. pic.twitter.com/1WEX72I5d6

— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) May 31, 2020

This behavior is in line with how Kentucky area police dealt with protestors in this submitted video evidence.

Louisville, KY — Police officers destroy and loot the water and medical supplies of peaceful protesters. pic.twitter.com/23CiRWVaT5

— HĪPMAGAZINE.ORG (@hipmagazineorg) May 31, 2020

Here’s the KMart on Google Maps.

Minnesota is at the epicenter of these protests and local police are trying every trick in the book to reduce the amount of journalists coming in, to limit the amount of potential protestors through a Governor mandated 8 P.M. curfew, and resorting to unconventional and illegal tactics like this to quash potential negative media.

Thankfully, rentals have insurance for these situations but who knows if Andrew’s rental company will reimburse him for four slashed tires. New tires alone, including labor for mounting and dismounting can easily cost over $1,000, not to mention the time wasted waiting for a tow in a city with limited resources.

Unfortunately for journalists and protestors who brought their personal vehicles, new tires will have to come out of pocket.

This is a dirty tactic and hopefully these photos and videos allows the owners with slashed tires enough evidence to submit some claim against the city’s law enforcement.

It’s one thing to tell people to leave but messing with their means of transportation is not the right way to do it.