Monday, January 2, 2023

Dozens of Police Evict Quarry Encampment

Minneapolis, MN – After providing a safer community for unhoused residents in Minneapolis for more than a year, the Quarry encampment was evicted during a large-scale police operation on Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. About a dozen people were displaced from the eviction, the majority of them having all of their belongings thrown out in the dead of winter.

Nate, a resident of the evicted encampment whose said his possessions along with his girlfriend’s were trashed by the authorities, aimed his frustration at Mayor Frey during an interview, saying the eviction “was the most heartless shit ever.”

“Mayor Frey, what you just did was the most heartless shit ever. I’m just curious. I’ll be fine if it made you happy, I’ll be fine if it made you sad. But as long as you felt something, you’re human then. But you’re kind of a shitty one. I just walked outside. I don’t have any of my gear now. Neither does my girl. Luckily, some people actually have a heart. They seen us and were like, Hey, what’s up? It’s fucking cold, dog. I invite you to come try this in sweatpants and a fucking windbreaker, thanks dude.”

Nate, resident of the now-evicted Quarry encampment

The encampment was first served with an eviction notice on Dec. 21 that gave a Dec. 28 eviction date. Authorities postponed the Dec. 28 date after upwards of 150 community members came to defend the encampment.

A day before the Dec. 28 eviction date, Quarry encampment advocates, residents, and the local non-profit Communities United Against Police Brutality held a press conference outside the encampment demanding authorities stop encampment evictions and calling for more support for the unhoused.

The encampment was located off a strip of grassy, unused city-owned land at the back of a large parking lot to a shopping center with several stores including a Home Depot and Cub Foods in Northeast Minneapolis right off Interstate 35. The encampment was largely hidden in the winter behind mounds of snow cleared from the parking lot.

Residents of the Quarry encampment spoke during a press conference on Dec. 27

Starting around 6:30 a.m., the eviction operation shut down large sections of the parking lot. Police set up yellow crime scene tap and police and city vehicles blocked roads to prevent supporters from reaching the encampment.

Upwards of 50 Minneapolis Police cars took part in the eviction operation along with at least two mobile field force CART (Chemical Agent Response Team) units equipped with crowd control munitions and high powered rifles.

The encampment was cleared in a couple of hours. No arrests were made and the city stated that six residents were displaced with four ex-residents walking away and two getting rides.

At least 50 Minneapolis police and city vehicles blocked large sections of the roads and parking lot during the large-scale police operation to evict the longstanding Quarry encampment. Screenshot via video contributed by Aaron Johnson.

Since April 2021, advocates have operated the Minneapolis Quarry Community Mutual Aid, a “group of Northeasters and beyond centered around the Quarry Community, providing one another with food, water, and other basic necessities.” Some of those displaced from the eviction are getting help securing hotel rooms and Airbnb’s from the mutual aid group.

Cover image by Akičita Šuŋka-Wakaŋ Ska using screenshots from videos contributed by Aaron Johnson.

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