Over 200 people gathered at Hamline Park in St. Paul August 10 to protest the use of lethal force by police officers. The protest came a day after the one-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, whose fatal shooting by police led to days of rioting in Ferguson, MO and sparked the national Black Lives Matter movement.
Black Lives Matter protest in St. Paul, August 10
A call to emergency action for the event was sent out via a Facebook event page and a group text message by Black Lives Matter Minneapolis and the Black Liberation Project.
The march started in Hamline Park and went to the St. Paul Western District police station to protest the shooting of Marcus Golden, who was shot and killed by police in St. Paul in January.
The group of demonstrators shut down areas of the light rail and street corners on University Avenue. Tensions grew between police and protesters, as well as protesters and drivers, who were delayed due to streets being temporarily shut down by the demonstration.
The biggest incident occurred on the corner of Hamline and University avenues as a driver threatened to run over demonstrators who refused to move. The situation was diffused in a matter of minutes without any police intervention; the driver left peacefully. The rally ended around 8:30 pm as demonstrators marched down University Avenue back to Hamline Park.
