Witness Recalls Police Detachment After Street Killing (Full Transcript)
[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Once the yellow tape was up, there were MPD officers who were standing in line, five of them, I think, and they wouldn't look at us. Everyone just kept saying, just look at us. You're our representatives. You work for us. Why won't you look at us? Like one of our, a part of our community just was murdered in the street. Like you're our Minneapolis Police Department. Why won't you even just look at us to give us solidarity? You know, when we walk around with the whistles around our neck, it's not that we have, like we know we can't do much. But what we do know is that we can let our community at large know when we're walking around, like I see you, and if you're stuck in your apartment, I want you to see me. I'm another person walking around who is here to protect you as best I can with my whistle and my phone, which really feels not great.
[00:00:56] Speaker 2: And yet you stood there with a phone and you documented this. You didn't run away.
[00:01:03] Speaker 1: I am not one to run when I'm afraid. I just, no way was I going to leave Alex by himself, undocumented. I knew that this was a moment and we all have to be brave and we all have to take risks and we're all going to be given moments to make that decision.
- Witnesses felt ignored by officers who would not make eye contact after a killing.
- Residents use small deterrents (whistles, phones) to signal mutual protection, though it feels insufficient.
- Documentation is portrayed as a civic duty and an act of bravery in moments of danger.
- The passage underscores a breakdown of trust and solidarity between police and community.