Tuesday afternoon’s session was not a meeting about putting up tents in Minneapolis.
This, rather, was an old-fashioned protest gathering with an opportunity to shout at the mayor and the police chief about allegations of police brutality.
Activists with the Occupy movement got 30 minutes to make their case.
MinnPost/Karen BorosMayor RT RybakMinneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak and Police Chief Tim Dolan also got a chance to explain their side of the story. It was half an hour of “Back to the Seventies.”
It all started Saturday night at Peavey Plaza when police officers asked Occupy protesters to remove their tents. The night ended with 12 arrests and misdemeanor charges.
Tuesday’s meeting with Rybak and Dolan took place at City Hall in a room packed with those from the Occupy movement, City Hall security personnel, police officers, reporters and a cluster of television photographers.
Rybak was on the hot seat but seemed to enjoy the experience.
The protesters had their questions written on cards, including one about why so many police officers were working downtown on a Saturday night.
“On a typical Saturday night, we have a large force out there,” said Rybak, who explained that with the University of Minnesota playing in the hockey finals and recent problems on Nicollet Mall, the Police Department was ready, should there be trouble.
“This was a night where a lot was going on,” he added, noting that the city did not call in extra police.
Another question focused on nightclub closing hours, the use of horses and pepper spray. Those reading the questions usually identified themselves by first name only.
“Bar closing is a period of time when we have challenges,” said Rybak. “My job is to make sure we have a safe downtown.”
“Will you announce against pepper spray? Yes or No?” came the question.
The mayor said he was not going to eliminate tools sometimes needed by the police.
“Saturday was a clear-cut case of police brutality,” said a man who identified himself as “D.” “Are you going to condemn acts of police brutality against young African-Americans?”
“If you think it’s (police activity) not justified, you need to bring that forward,” said Chief Dolan. “You have an obligation to bring it forward.”
Now the crowd was starting to hoot and protest the answers they were getting, despite efforts by some to keep the meeting civil.
“I’ve been part of Occupy since October,” said a questioner who identified himself as John. “I haven’t seen this level of repression since the start.” He went on to ask Rybak to meet with them.
“I just did,” Rybak replied. “There’s a lot I have to work on in the city. I can’t meet with you again for at least a month, but I can commit to having a dialogue.”
“We’re asking for another meeting like this to express our First Amendment rights,” said another protester. “Can we meet again in the next month?”
“I dropped everything and changed my whole schedule because this was important,” said the mayor.
Clearly there will not be another meeting just like this one next week. And probably not the week after either.
And finally, a question about tents, the issue that started the problem. Tents were a problem last fall. The “tent” question came from a woman who said her name was Deb.
“Why are the tents at the Plaza [Peavey] treated differently from our tents,” she asked. She also wanted to know if Homeland Security was part of the law enforcement team in Minneapolis.
“We have a ‘no camping’ ordinance in the city,” said Rybak, who said he did not think anyone from Homeland Security was involved in the Saturday arrests. “If I was going to break the ‘no camping’ ordinance, it would be for the homeless.”
“Do it, do it do it” came the response.
Rybak said he spends a lot of time working on homeless issues and does not see camping as part of the solution.
“Complete and total untruths. He’s lying. He’s lying,” shouted a man seated near the door.
“Your police officers are unapproachable,” shouted another man with a list of grievances.
“We’re almost out of time,” said one of the Occupy organizers. They had come to the end of their half hour.
The mayor was still smiling. He asked people with specific information to stay in the room and meet with people from the City’s Civil Rights Department.
“We can’t fix it if we don’t know about it,” said Rybak.
“You know it, you know it, you know it” came the response from the chorus.
The mayor left. The police chief left. The reporters and photographers left. Out in the hall it was 2012 again.
But inside the meeting room, it was still the ’70s, with the protesters still chanting and the security people keeping watch.
Two Cities blog, which covers Minneapolis and St. Paul City Halls, is made possible in part by grants from The Saint Paul Foundation and the Carolyn Foundation.