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.

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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 area became a sort of autonomous zone, and the barricades remained in place for about a year. The intersection was reopened amid controversy in June 2021 when city workers hauled away the barricades.

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.

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