Mother Jones has published a video collection showing systematically puncturing the tires of every car in a K-Mart parking lot on May 30 and under a highway overpass on May 31.
According to the Star Tribune the persons responsible were members of two law enforcement agencies– state troopers and Anoka County deputy sheriffs– and they can be seen in as video putting holes in the sidewalls of the tires.
Sheriff’s spokesman Bruce Gordon had to admit what the videos showed– law enforcement involved in slashing tires– but instead of condemning the clearly illegal activity (destruction of other people’s property), he chose to defend it.
“State Patrol troopers strategically deflated tires […] in order to stop behaviors such as vehicles driving dangerously and at high speeds in and around protesters and law enforcement,” Gordon said.
Point two: flattening all four tires on every car would actually prevent them from being moved (without a tow) and get in the way of any attempt to “clear the area.”
