Black-owned businesses surrounding the area where George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis last year say they are in desperate need of help from police.
Black merchants operating on the corner of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, known as George Floyd Square, are struggling to stay open due to rampant crime and say police have blocked off the intersection, creating a dangerous autonomous zone, according to the New York Post.
“The city left me in danger,” the owner of Smoke in the Pit said Thursday, two days after Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder for Floyd’s death. “They locked us up on here and left us behind.”
Several stores on the block are boarded up, and the New York Post reported that many owners and workers were afraid to comment about the dire situation due to fear of reprisal.
“Look around. Things are empty,” said Richard Roberts, who works at a nearby church. “What can we do about it?”
Left-wing militants have reportedly been patrolling the autonomous zone around the Floyd memorial, and business owners say crime has spiraled out of control as a result.