Judge orders mediation between Minneapolis and businesses suing city over its handling of George Floyd Square

A judge has ordered Minneapolis to come to the table and attempt to settle a lawsuit filed by eight business owners in the south Minneapolis neighborhood where police killed George Floyd in 2020.

The business owners sued the city for $49 million in damages over its handling of the neighborhood in the aftermath of Floyd’s murder. They allege their businesses were damaged when they say police stopped responding to the area and let activists, gangs and crime take over.

The city filed a motion to have the case dismissed, but Hennepin County District Judge Laura M. Thomas last week granted the business owners’ request for mediation.

Thomas ordered both sides “to appear on time, prepared to enter into meaningful negotiations” and to submit a report on the outcome by Oct. 1.

On Saturday, a city spokesperson said: “The court ordered mediation, and of course, the city will go in good faith as ordered. The city still believes it has a strong case.”

After Floyd’s death, the city blocked off the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue with concrete barriers to give people space to grieve and memorialize Floyd.

Activists patrolled a four-block area around the intersection, staffing the barricades and controlling access to what is now called George Floyd Square. The Bloods gang, active in the area, at one point provided “security” in the neighborhood after police stepped back.

The business owners say that after the city blocked off the area, it was overtaken by “civilian occupiers” and became a violent, lawless “no-go zone” that disrupted and ruined their businesses.

They allege the city’s actions amounted to condemnation of their property without compensation.

“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 business owners said in the lawsuit.

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

The businesses are represented by attorney Michael Healey, who also represents the former Cup Foods, now known as Unity Foods, and four business owners that operated inside the Cup Foods building.

When the eight owners filed their suit, a city spokesperson said Minneapolis police served the area around the clock. The spokesperson said two officers were assigned there in August 2023 to focus on “community engagement, relationship-building, and collaborating with local businesses and residents.”

Regarding the Cup Foods lawsuit, a spokesperson previously said the city “understands the challenges that residents and businesses have confronted in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.“

Floyd was killed by police on the street outside Cup Foods after a worker reported that Floyd had tried to buy a pack of cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill.

The business owners’ lawsuit alleges that violence and chaos consumed the area after police stepped back. About a year after Floyd’s killing, a man was shot outside the Just Turkey restaurant and ran inside, where owner Sam Willis helped him. Willis was later confronted by two gunmen looking for the victim.

Consignment store owner Christy Frank said “vagrants” harassed and threatened her to the point that she hired security guards to escort her to her business. Her store now faces bankruptcy.

Ralph Williams, owner of Ralph’s VIP Barber Lounge, was shot in the thigh and testicle in 2021. He said police never responded to his 911 call and that he had to drive himself to the hospital.

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

Edwin Reed, owner of Sincere Detailing Pros, said he saw a man drive up in front of his store in 2024 with a gunshot wound to his head. Reed tried to administer first aid and called 911, but the man died.

Reed said he was once with a customer when they heard 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.”

Reed said the officer told him to gather the bullet casings and bring them in.