Protests after the police killing of Winston Boogie Smith, beginning June 2021
Civil unrest began in the Uptown district of the U.S. city of Minneapolis on June 3, 2021, as a reaction to news reports that law enforcement officers had killed a wanted suspect during an arrest. The law enforcement killing occurred atop a parking ramp near West Lake Street and Girard Avenue. Police fired several rounds, killing the person at the scene. In an initial statement about the encounter, the U.S. Marshals Service alleged that a person failed to comply with arresting officers and produced a gun. Crowds gathered on West Lake Street near the parking ramp soon afterwards as few details were known about the incident or the deceased person, who was later identified as Winston Boogie Smith, a 32-year-old black American man.
An initial period of civil disorder occurred over four nights along a three-block stretch of West Lake Street. Several business were vandalized during the overnight hours of June 3 and 4, resulting in several arrests. Protests were held over subsequent days with demonstrators periodically occupying a street intersection near where Smith was killed. There was no known video evidence of the police encounter with Smith, and an attorney for the passenger in Smith's car and protesters disputed the law enforcement account of events. The night of June 13, a protester, Deona Marie Knajdek, was killed when a vehicle rammed into a demonstration in the street. Over the next several days, demonstrators attempted to reoccupy a portion of the street and erected makeshift barricades that were removed by Minneapolis police officers. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the state's National Guard on standby orders for possible deployment to Minneapolis.
Nightly demonstrations were held through mid July and unrest continued for several more weeks, which disrupted local business activity and led to cancelation of street festivals.
Background.
Prolonged local unrest.
The Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area experienced a prolonged period of protests and unrest in 2020 and 2021 over issues of police brutality and racial injustice that began with the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020. In April 2021, the region experienced unrest over the killing of Daunte Wright on April 11, 2021, by a police officer in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center, and protest rallies occurred during the criminal trial and coincided with the conviction of Chauvin on April 20, 2021.
The June 2021 events in Uptown Minneapolis occurred three miles from the 38th Street and Chicago Avenue intersection where Floyd was murdered. Activists had referred to the location as George Floyd Square and converted the street intersection into a memorial site and occupied protest. Early in the morning on June 3, 2021, city workers in Minneapolis removed barricades and attempted to reopen the intersection to vehicular traffic, but faced opposition from the protesters.
Killing of Winston Boogie Smith.
Winston Boogie Smith Jr. was a 32-year-old black American man who resided in Saint Paul, Minnesota. On June 3, 2021, a law enforcement task force that apprehends wanted fugitives shot and killed Smith during an attempted arrest at 2:08p.m.CDT at a parking ramp near the intersection of West Lake Street and Girard Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. An investigation of law enforcement conduct by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in the days afterward said Smith had brandished a firearm and shot at officers who attempted to arrest him. Smith was killed by the several rounds fired by law enforcement officers. Law enforcement did not use body cameras or dashcams when apprehending Smith, and there was no known video evidence of the June 3 encounter. After an investigation by state and local officials, a report they released on October 11, 2021, said that the officers’ actions were justified under Minnesota Statutes and that no criminal charges should be filed against them.
Events.
Initial unrest.
The afternoon of Thursday, June 3, 2021, news spread quickly in Minneapolis that law enforcement officers had shot and killed a person during an attempted arrest at a parking ramp near West Lake Street and Girard Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood. A small crowd gathered at the scene and stood along police tape and some began chanting anti-police slogans at Minneapolis Police Department officers present at the location. Few details were known about the incident at the time; the race of the person shot and the involved officers had not been mentioned in official statements and local media coverage. Several community organizers worked to keep the gathering peaceful by deescalating tensions in the crowd. Most of the initial crowd dispersed by the early evening.
At nightfall, demonstrators blocked West Lake Street to vehicular traffic with a dumpster that they lit on fire. Overnight, dozens of buildings were damaged and several fires were started in the area. The Minneapolis Police Department gave permission for its officers responding to the unrest to use tear gas and rubber bullets if needed. Instead, patrols of police officers in riot gear fired flashbangs and used other crowd disperse methods. Authorities made nine arrests into overnight hours into June 4 for rioting, assault, obstruction, damage to property, and weapons procession. Several buildings in Uptown were broken into and vandalized. A spate of looting occurred to some businesses in the area, but the looting was not as widespread in Minneapolis as it was in late May 2020.
The identity of the person who was killed by law enforcement—Winston Boogie Smith, 32-year-old Black man from Minneapolis—was confirmed by his family and friends on Friday, June 4. Many businesses in the Uptown area, which had economic activity interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and other riots during the prior year, spent the day of June 4 cleaning up property damage and boarding up storefronts in preparation for further unrest. At the parking ramp where Smith was killed, it was tagged with anti-police graffiti. During the afternoon, protesters briefly blocked the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and West Lake Street. Minneapolis police later reopened the intersection by removing objects that had been placed as barricades, and slashing the tires of and towing vehicles that blocked the street.
Mayor Frey announced a public safety plan on June 4 to mobilize 100 law enforcement officers from the Hennepin County Sherriff's Office and the Minnesota State Patrol to respond to the unrest in Uptown. He said he spoke with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz about the Minnesota National Guard, but did not request their presence at that time.
Family and friends of Smith held a vigil the evening of June 4 at the parking ramp where he was killed. Demonstrators also returned to West Lake Street near Girard Avenue. At approximately 12:30 a.m. CDT on June 5, two dumpsters were set on fire. Police also reported that trees and other items were set fire and that some property was vandalized. No looting was reported overnight. Minneapolis police made 27 arrests in connection to the overnight demonstrations. Three other fatal shootings, unrelated to the Winston Smith protests earlier, occurred in the early morning hours of June 5 in Minneapolis, including of a bystander at a street race on East Lake Street. A Minneapolis police spokesperson said the department would amass additional law enforcement support from the Minnesota State Patrol and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office to respond to the unrest and illicit street racing in the city.
After two consecutive nights of arrests, demonstrations were mostly peaceful on Saturday, June 5. Protesters sought greater law enforcement transparency of the events that led to Smith's death. Demonstrators blocked streets in the Uptown neighborhood near where Smith was killed days prior and marched a short distance. Demonstrators also spray painted anti-police graffiti.
On Sunday, June 6, unrest persisted for a fourth night as protesters gathered for a rally at West Lake Street and Girard Avenue, and then marched down West Lake Street. Minneapolis police officers ushered the marchers to the sidewalk, and after a brief standoff, the group marched on smaller, adjacent roadways. The size of the protest group was as many as 100 people.
Protests were held nearly daily through June 9.
On June 10, attorneys for the passenger that was in Smith's car during the June 3 incident said that she had never seen a firearm on Smith or in the vehicle, and civil rights activists called for greater law enforcement transparency. At West Lake Street and Girard Avenue, protesters painted portions of the street red, and they left graffiti messages near the parking ramp where Smith was killed.
Protests featured a rally on June 13 at the top level of the parking ramp where Smith was killed.
Vehicle-ramming attack.
The evening of Sunday, June 13 demonstrators blocked the intersection of West Lake Street and Girard Avenue for an event, with some playing volleyball and lawn games. At approximately 11:39p.m.CDT, a man in a Jeep Cherokee drove into the crowd at a high speed, striking a parked vehicle that had been used to block off the intersection to traffic, which then collided with protesters. One protester was killed, and three others suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. Family of the deceased identified her as Deona Knajdek (some reports also identified her as Deona Erickson or Deona Marie), a 31-year-old woman from Minneapolis. According to her family, the car that was struck belonged to Knajdek, and she had parked it there as a blockade to protect protesters. Demonstrators detained the driver until police arrived at the scene.
The driver, identified as Nicholas Kraus, a 35-year-old man from Saint Paul, Minnesota, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and assault with a dangerous weapon. The man allegedly admitted to authorities that he intentionally driven at a high speed in an attempt to go over the barricades. Three hours before the vehicle attack, a demonstrator had climbed a pole and spray painted a surveillance camera located at the intersection of West Lake Street and Girard Avenue. Officials believed the camera would have captured "crucial evidence" about crash, and law enforcement sought the public's assistance to identify a suspect who painted over the camera.
Continued unrest.
During the early morning hours of June 14, a small group continued to block the West Lake Street and Girard Avenue intersection with some yelling at drivers in other vehicles. A person fired gunshots after a confrontation with the driver of a vehicle. Minneapolis police made two arrests. Protests were held in Uptown during the day on June 14 with demonstrators calling for justice for Smith and Knajdek. Protesters blocked vehicular traffic on West Lake Street at Hennepin Avenue. Hundreds of people gathered for a vigil for Knajdek that night.
On June 15, demonstrators intermittently held portions of West Lake Street during the afternoon and evening on June 15. Law enforcement officers from the Minneapolis police and Hennepin County sheriff's office that wore riot gear advanced to push protesters off West Lake Street while city crews removed makeshift barricades that included trash cans, a bus shelter, and other objects. The night of June 15, police detained several demonstrators, resulting in 27 citations and three arrests.On June 16, the Minnesota National Guard announced that 100 troops were being activated for potential deployment to support the city's response to civil unrest. The back-and-forth exchange of protesters attempting a street occupation by erecting barricades and police removing them continued throughout the day. Demonstrators asserted that the protests were about issues beyond just the killings of Smith and Knajdek. People also gathered for a memorial to Knajdek on what would have been her 32nd birthday. Protesters demanded that Kraus, the man accused of killing Knajdek who was charged with second-degree murder, face the more serious first-degree murder charge and that the officers who shot and killed Smith also face criminal charges.
On June 17 at 1:30 a.m. CDT, police removed makeshift barriers that were used by demonstrators to "hold the space" near were Smith and Knajdek were killed, reopening West Lake Street to vehicular traffic.
Dozens of people gathered at West Lake Street and Girard Avenue on June 24. During the overnight hours, Minneapolis police officers disbursed the crowd after the streetway was blocked with makeshift barricades and several dumpsters were lit on fire. Minneapolis police made four arrests. Authorities later charged Demonte Jamond Walkins, a 22-year old Minneapolis resident, for allegedly brandishing and discharging a firearm during the street occupation the night of June 24. Walkins pled guilty in a Hennepin County court on December 10, 2021, to the charge of reckless