(HorizonPost.com) – The hopes of Minneapolis officials to turn the spot where George Floyd died into a sacred space aren’t going so well now that several stores located in the area filed suit against the city accusing it of neglecting the area and allowing violent crime to flourish, the Associated Press reported.
The lawsuit, filed last month in state court accuses Mayor Jacob Frey and other city officials of not properly policing the area since Floyd’s in-custody death in May 2020.
The businesses also accuse the city of using concrete barriers to block the intersection now named George Floyd Square for over a year after Floyd’s death, preventing their customers from entering the area.
In their lawsuit, the business owners said actions taken by the city have turned the area into a hub for crime.
According to the complaint, the city, the mayor, and the Minneapolis Police Department agreed to “severely limit police response” in the area, only allowing the police to respond to the “most serious calls” while the rest of the time, “actively avoiding the area.”
Because criminals know that the so-called George Floyd Square lacks adequate police protection, they have “made the area so dangerous that it has become known as the ‘No-Go Zone,” according to the complaint.
The businesses suing the city include the convenience store Cup Foods where George Floyd attempted to pass a counterfeit twenty, prompting the police response. The other plaintiffs include a tobacco shop and an investment business, all owned by the same family.
The plaintiffs are seeking around $1.5 million from the city.
Minneapolis has argued that it provided a range of support for area businesses following the riots that occurred after Floyd’s death, including a 2021 $1.5 million forgivable loan program specifically for businesses around George Floyd Square.
A spokesman for the city confirmed that officials were aware of the lawsuit but did not comment on it.
Mayor Frey’s office said in a statement last Wednesday that the mayor’s office did “everything possible” to safely open the street during “very tenuous circumstances.
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