8 businesses sue Minneapolis, saying city allowed activists, gangs to take over George Floyd Square

Eight more businesses have sued the city of Minneapolis over its handling of the neighborhood where George Floyd was killed by police, alleging their businesses were damaged when officers stopped responding to the area, and activists, gangs and crime took over.

The business owners say when the city blocked off a four-block area around 38th Street and Chicago Avenue to give people space to grieve in summer 2020, they allowed it to be overtaken by “civilian occupiers” to the point where it became a violent, lawless “no-go zone” that disrupted and, in some cases, ruined their businesses. They say the city’s actions amounted to condemnation of their property without compensation.

They’re represented by Michael Healey, the same attorney representing the former Cup Foods and four other businesses that operated in the Cup building that sued the city in October on similar grounds. That lawsuit seeks $30 million in damages.

Floyd was killed just outside Cup Foods in May 2020 after police were called when he tried to pay for a pack of cigarettes with a fake $20 bill.

The latest lawsuit seeks $49 million in damages and includes a claim that by not providing the area with police protection, the city discriminated against the business owners based on their race (most of them are Black), gender or sexual orientation.

“I firmly believe that they felt they could get away with not compensating our business community because of who we were and how small we were,” said one of the business owners, Mike Stebnitz.

The city has filed a motion to dismiss this lawsuit.

A similar lawsuit was filed against the city of Seattle over an autonomous zone that sprang up after Floyd’s killing. That city agreed to pay $3.65 million to settle the suit in 2023.

In Minneapolis, a semiautonomous zone formed in a four-block area around the intersection: The city erected barriers blocking off the intersection, and they remained there for about a year before the intersection was reopened in June 2021. The barriers were manned by activists who controlled access to George Floyd Square.

The latest lawsuit says business owners who operate near the intersection, in what’s now called George Floyd Square, have dealt with spiraling crime and violence since Floyd’s 2020 killing.

“The city’s decision to allow civilian occupiers to ‘guard’ the zone enhanced economic hardship on the surrounding businesses and caused deadly results, including the takeover of the intersection by gangs,” the lawsuit says. The Bloods gang is active in the George Floyd Square area and at one point provided “security” in the neighborhood after police stepped back.

The lawsuit cites examples of the violence business owners have experienced or witnessed while trying to make a living.

About a year after Floyd’s police killing, a man was shot outside of a restaurant called Just Turkey and ran into the store, where owner Sam Willis helped the wounded man and was later confronted by two gunmen looking for the victim.

The owner of a consignment store, Christy Frank, is facing bankruptcy and says she was harassed and threatened by “vagrants” to the point where she hired security to escort her to her store.

The owner of Finish Touch Boutique, Willie Frazier, had his car stolen, store broken into, window and door repeatedly shot, saw one of his customers robbed outside his store in broad daylight and dove to the ground along with two customers when gunfire erupted outside.

Ralph Williams, owner of Ralph’s VIP Barber Lounge, was shot in 2021, the bullet ripping through his thighs and a testicle, but police never responded when he called 911, so he had to drive himself to the hospital.

In March 2024, Edwin Reed, owner of Sincere Detailing Pros, saw a vehicle drive up in front of his store with a former customer in the passenger seat and his wife and children screaming inside. He had a gunshot wound to his head; Reed tried to administer first aid and called 911, but he said it took police over 20 minutes to respond and the man died.

On another day, Reed was with a customer when they had to take cover after hearing gunshots outside. Reed called 911 and was given the number for a gang task force officer, who told him Minneapolis police wouldn’t respond because it was a “no-go zone.” The officer told Reed to gather bullet casings and bring them in.

Dwight Alexander, owner of Smoke in the Pit, a barbecue restaurant, developed anxiety and relapsed into substance misuse after being sober for more than 13 years, the suit says.

A spokesperson for the city said the Minneapolis Police Department provides 24/7 service to the 38th and Chicago area and has assigned two officers there since August 2023 to focus on “community engagement, relationship-building, and collaborating with local businesses and residents.”

Stebnitz bought two buildings northwest of the intersection and spent over a decade renovating them and finding tenants.

By 2020, Stebnitz had moved to Florida to be with his husband and was just getting to the point where he thought he might be able to retire off the buildings’ income.

Then Floyd was killed just steps from his properties. He would watch CNN to see if his buildings were on fire. They didn’t burn but instead died a slow death.

They slowly emptied out, and within two years, he had lost his life savings and all but one of his tenants. He sold the buildings to a nonprofit in 2023 for what he estimated was half their value.

“When I reached out to the city there was just no help; there were just no answers,” he said.

Healey, his lawyer, said, “Chaos took over, violence took over.”

At one point, people came to Stebnitz and tried to get him to pay for his buildings to be protected. He would call police and be referred to a crime prevention specialist who said the city wouldn’t do anything in the no-go zone. He was told to read about how to be a “white ally” and memorialize Floyd.

“It just completely turned my life upside down,” he said.

It became clear to him the city had decided the whole intersection would become a memorial.

“To me, that is a condemnation,” he said. “I feel like it was stolen from me.”