West Lake Street & Hennepin Avenue Barricaded In Protests Over Death of Winston Smith.

The street was barricaded by protesters to close eastbound West Lake Street at Hennepin Avenue on the evening of June 15, 2021, as activists struggle with the city over the killing of young black men. Although Derek Chauvin was convicted of the killing of George Floyd, the city maintained that the death was a “natural death.” As of this posting, MPD does not list his death as a criminal homicide in the Uniform Crime Reporting data. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, June 2021).