Police slash Minneapolis protesters' car tires in video

Mother Jones and the Minneapolis Star Tribune report that during the most intense period of protests in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd, police officers from two departments were filmed slashing tires in at least two locations. Authorities used the tactic to disable cars in a Kmart parking lot that had become a staging point for protesters and police, and at another street location about three miles away — with dozen of vehicles said to be damaged.

The Star Tribune identified officers from the Minnesota State Patrol and the Anoka County Sheriff's Office in the videos. A spokesman with the Department of Public Safety told the newspaper the State Patrol "strategically deflated tires ... in order to stop behaviors such as vehicles driving dangerously and at high speeds in and around protesters and law enforcement,” and to render ineffective any cars "that contained items used to cause harm during violent protests." The paper said such items included "rocks, concrete and sticks."

A lieutenant with the sheriff's office said the force was following orders from the Multiagency Command Center (MACC), a state agency organizing law enforcement response to the protests. Anoka County covers the northwest portion of Minneapolis, while Hennepin County — the most populous in the state — covers the majority of Minneapolis. Spokespeople for the Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and Minnesota National Guard denied responsibility for any tire slashing.