Law Enforcement Slashed Parked Car Tires During Minneapolis Protests

Videos and photos posted to social media from protests on May 30 and May 31 show officers knifing car tires in at least two locations, including a Kmart parking lot, with confused protestors, news crews, and medics questioning online why it was done.

“State Patrol troopers strategically deflated tires,” Department of Public Safety spokesman Bruce Gordon told The Star Tribune on Monday, “in order to stop behaviors such as vehicles driving dangerously and at high speeds in and around protesters and law enforcement.”

Gordon also said that the patrol targeted vehicles containing items used to cause harm during the protests, and admitted that this is “not a typical tactic.” 

The Anoka County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Andy Knotz said that county deputies followed orders from the state’s Multiagency Command Center to join the patrol and slash tires. 

Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County, and National Guard officers were not involved in the slashing.