MINNEAPOLIS – Just outside the entrance to Smile Orthodontics, in a Minneapolis neighborhood of craft breweries and trendy shops, two soldiers in jungle camouflage and body armor were on watch Monday, assault rifles slung over their backs. Snow flurries blew around them. A few steps away at the Iron Door Pub, three more National Guard soldiers and a Minneapolis police officer stood out front, watching the street. A handful of other soldiers were scattered nearby, along with four camouflaged Humvees and a couple police cars.
Across the street was a boarded-up building spray-painted with big yellow letters: “BLACK LIVES MATTER ALL YEAR ROUND.”
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Adam Martinez was walking down the street when he briefly stopped to stare at the scene.
“This city feels like it’s occupied by the military,” said Martinez, a commercial painter who lives in nearby St. Paul. “This is so weird.”
More than 3,000 National Guard soldiers, along with police officers, state police, sheriffs deputies and other law enforcement personnel have flooded the city in recent days, with a verdict looming in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with murder in the death last year of George Floyd.
In Jacksonville, some activists have told News4Jax they plan to hold a demonstration following the verdict. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it’s prepared to ensure things remain peaceful.
“I think protests are going to happen here in Jacksonville and across the country whether it is a guilty or not guilty verdict,” said Sara Tayiba, with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.
The JCAC and the Northside Coalition plan to protest police brutality and call for an improvement of community-police relations.
JCAC wants a civilian police accountability council, where each police district has a member that is not a member of the police department, that has the power to subpoena evidence, amend procedures, discipline officers and manage police budgets.
There has been an increase in transparency through the State Attorney’s Office, releasing body worn camera video of police-involved shootings to the public at a faster rate and an assessment of convictions.
Ben Frazier of the Northside Coalition in Jacksonville said he’s concerned “what happened in Minneapolis is happening in Jacksonville and there needs to be a closer look at how excessive force has been used against African Americans.”
No demonstrations in Jacksonville have been confirmed, but the city said it’s prepared. The JSO released a statement that reads :
“JSO plans and trains for unexpected events such as protests routinely. We remain vigilant and will take necessary steps should the need arise.:”
On Monday afternoon, soon after lawyers’ closing arguments and the Chauvin case going to the jury, about 300 protesters marched outside the courthouse in Minneapolis.
There was no sign of violence.
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Associated Press writers Kathleen Hennessey and Mohamed Ibrahim contributed to this report.
News4Jax reporter Jenese Harris contributed to this report.
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Find AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd