MINNEAPOLIS — Editor's Note: This video aired May 25, 2023.
Cup Foods and its affiliated businesses at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue filed a complaint against the city of Minneapolis, requesting a payout of $1.5 million in damages for causing the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent management of what became George Floyd Square, for more than a year.
Menthol Tobacco and Southside Electronics — which are located inside Cup Foods — NMA Investments, and 3759 Chicago Ave, LLC are listed as the plaintiffs in the suit. Court documents say all of the businesses are owned by the same family, who allege the barriers erected by the city at the intersection after Floyd's murder "violated" their "property rights."
In the aftermath of Floyd's murder, Cup Foods found itself in the middle of it all, as an employee had called emergency services alleging Floyd tried to pay for items with a fake $20 bill.
George Floyd Square was first established at the intersection of 38th and Chicago in memory of Floyd, who was murdered there in May of 2020 by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. A video taken by a witness outside the store showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes.
The social unrest in the days and weeks that followed prompted the city to put up concrete barriers in the streets, while community members turned the intersection into a memorial adorned with flowers and art depicting George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Minneapolis city leaders started reopening the intersection in June 2021, about a year after they put the barricades up. Many community members were upset with the decision to reopen it, and voiced that they felt the city didn't consult them.
According to the complaint, the businesses claim the city owes them compensatory damages for three reasons: Floyd's murder; placing concrete barriers around the intersection and leaving them up for more than a year; and failing to provide police protection as required by the city charter.
The complaint says the barricades "physically prevented business patrons from visiting the area, and the area has turned into a hub for violent crime." Further, the businesses claim the area is now considered a "no-go zone" because of criminal activity, and tenants have since abandoned their rented spaces.
Mayor Jacob Frey said the city did everything possible to open the street safely, and in a planned way so no one was hurt and the area remained safe for residents.
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