Minneapolis city workers on Thursday started partially clearing the George Floyd memorial — after complaints it had become a lawless “autonomous zone” with at least one murder, attacks by vandals and a shooting just last week.
Dozens of clean-up crew members descended on the now-notorious area known as George Floyd Square from 4:30 a.m., city spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie confirmed.
Videos showed Bobcat equipment lifting away concrete barriers that had sealed off the area from traffic for almost a year since Floyd’s murder on May 25 last year.
Community representatives helped coordinate the removal of flowers, artwork as well as the barriers and shacks sealing off the square, McKenzie said.
“The fist sculpture is going to remain in the roundabout,” she told the Minneapolis Star Tribune, referring to the central monument that stands several feet tall.
However, the makeshift garden around it is part of what was being removed Thursday to finally open up the area that was previously a major through-point for buses and traffic, the local paper noted.
The clear-up was largely coordinated by Agape, a peacekeeping force that includes ex-gang members that is on contract with the city to keep watch over the area, McKenzie told the outlet.
Police were not involved, with Agape “managing conflict and de-escalating when necessary,” a police spokesman told the paper.
KSTP reporter Ashley Zilka — one of the first to break news of the clear-up — said that community members started arriving as soon as word of the dismantling spread.
“Many are angry; say they are shocked by this,” she tweeted.
It soon created yet another tense situation at the square, with at least one photographer saying he was threatened with physical harm, the Star Tribune said.
George Floyd Square became the primary focus for grieving and memorials almost immediately after Floyd, 46, was murdered by then-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, sparking protests across the US.
But it soon turned into a flashpoint, with locals saying it had become a “volatile” autonomous zone where cops were kept away — and which had its own list of rules just for white people paying respects.
Imez Wright was shot dead there in March, the Star Tribune noted, and last week there was also a shooting at the site on the first anniversary of Floyd’s murder.
Black-owned businesses in the area also claim they were left in danger and their businesses left facing ruin.
With Post wires