Looting for Winston Smith or someone like him (4)

Winston Boogie Smith was the target of a North Star Fugitive Task Force arrest operation that cornered him on the afternoon of June 3 at the top of the parking ramp adjacent to Uptown’s Seven Points (better known as Calhoun Square). Smith appears to have engaged in a gun battle with members of the task force when they sought to arrest him on an outstanding warrant.

The woman who was in Smith’s car at the time of the shootout has retained counsel. What does she need a lawyer for? Perhaps she awaits a big payday, along with Smith’s family.

The Star Tribune noted in passing on its story covering the woman’s statement last week that Smith’s family “has retained several attorneys, including Ben Crump and Jeff Storms, who represented George Floyd’s family in securing a $27 million civil settlement from the city of Minneapolis after Floyd was killed by a police officer last year.”

The woman’s lawyer called a press conference and made a brief statement on her behalf. According to her statement, the woman never saw Smith with a weapon. “She never saw a gun on Winston Smith, and she never saw a gun inside the vehicle at any time,” said improbably named lawyer Racey Rodne.

“She is extremely traumatized as a result of what happened to her….That woman could have been killed,” activist Nekima Levy Armstrong said at the news conference. As I said about the payday…

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating Smith’s shooting. The arrest operation in which it occurred was conducted by the United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force. According to the BCA, evidence indicates Smith fired a handgun at officers during the operation. They found the handgun and a spent cartridge inside his car.

The shootout, as I think it was, went down a block from Hennepin and Lake, one of the most prominent intersections in Minneapolis. Unlike Smith’s family and lady friend, businesses in the neighborhood don’t foresee any payday. The Uptown Theater is apparently closed for good. This morning the Star Tribune reports: “Another high-profile business announced Sunday that it’s pulling out of Uptown after 35 years, citing concerns about crime and social unrest. Juut Salon Spa, a fixture at the corner of Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street, posted the news on its Facebook page.”

“It has become more and more evident that Uptown continues to struggle with store closings, social unrest, crime and street closures,” it read. “We would be heartbroken if anything were to happen to our team members or clients. With that at the forefront, we made this difficult decision.”

Social justice warriors continue to exact their toll. From the caption to the photo accompanying the Star Tribune story linked below, we learn that they have claimed the top floor of the parking ramp as a memorial to the sainted thug Winston Smith, described by reporter John Reinan as “a 32-year-old father of three.” As the Star Tribune puts it:

A social justice battle is being waged particularly in an Uptown Minneapolis alley, again and again and again. The entry lane to the parking garage where Smith was killed by a law enforcement task force has been painted and repainted at least five times in the past week as activists and the property owner strive for the last word.

At “last word,” the property owner has surrendered.

Reinan’s story leads with the news from the vicinity overnight:

A woman was killed and two others were injured after being struck by a car during a protest in Uptown on Sunday night, the Minneapolis Police Department said early Monday morning. Police said the suspect was pulled from his car by protesters after the 11:39 p.m. crash and is now in custody and being treated for injuries at a hospital. Police did not say how the man was hurt or give the extent of his injuries. The man’s motive was not immediately known.

While the city continues its astounding descent, the editorial board of the Star Tribune continues its Neronian approach to civic leadership. Today’s editorial supports the Minnesota Historical Society in a mild uprising led by Republican state senator Mary Kiffmeyer against the society’s suffocating political correctness. The Star Tribune’s recent lineup of worthless (at best) editorials is posted here. When not wrong and destructive, the institutional voice of the Star Tribune is worthless.

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