Minneapolis looters are seen hacking at a safe inside the charred shell of an abandoned police precinct in surreal scenes that lay bare the wanton lawlessness gripping the US, exclusive photos by DailyMail.com show.
The group of masked and gloved men used pliers and hammers to prize open the heavy metal chest while others rifled through files and ransacked burnout rooms with complete impunity.
The extraordinary images were taken Saturday amid the smoldering remains of the 3rd Precinct headquarters of the Minneapolis Police Department.
Officers evacuated the building two nights earlier when it came under siege from armed rioters protesting the death of police brutality victim George Floyd.
When DailyMail.com journalists visited the scene over the weekend there was still no visible police presence whatsoever.
‘The message coming from the looters was loud and clear,’ our photojournalist remarked. ‘We are in charge now and we will do whatever we like.’
Minneapolis looters are caught on camera hacking at a safe inside the charred shell of an abandoned police precinct in surreal scenes that lay bare the wanton lawlessness gripping the US, exclusive photos by DailyMail.com show
The group of masked and gloved men used pliers and hammers to prize open the heavy metal chest while others rifled through files and ransacked burnout rooms with complete impunity
The extraordinary images were taken Saturday amid the smoldering remains of the 3rd Precinct headquarters of the Minneapolis Police Department
A stash of discarded police CDs with labels marked ‘evidence’, ‘analysis of surveillance disks’ and ‘theft’ had been dumped in a neighboring alley
Officers evacuated the building two nights earlier when it came under siege from armed rioters protesting the death of police brutality victim George Floyd
Protesters react as they set fire to the entrance of Minneapolis’s 3rd Precinct headquarters as demonstrations continue
There was little of value left in the scorched rooms, now strewn with junk and debris.
A stash of discarded police CDs with labels marked ‘evidence’, ‘analysis of surveillance disks’ and ‘theft’ had been dumped in a neighboring alley.
Nearby was a plastic evidence bag containing surgical gloves and a box cutter that had the word ‘weapons’ written on it and appeared to be encrusted with blood.
George Floyd died last Monday after a white police officer kneeled on his neck
DailyMail.com alerted police and offered to supply our images to investigators but as of Sunday night they had not taken us up on the offer.
‘I expected the precinct would be back in the hands of the police by Saturday but the looters were still coming and going as they pleased,’ our journalist added.
‘There were CDs, files and what looked like police evidence strewn on the floor. But what really caught my attention was an almighty banging sound coming from a back room.
‘I went to check it out and came across these guys who were hacking away with whatever they had at a safe, completely oblivious to anyone coming to challenge them.
‘There could have been guns in there – or vital evidence in a court case. I didn’t stay to find out as the whole feeling was of one of total lawlessness.’
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey defended the retreat by revealing officers were facing the threat of ‘hand to hand’ combat with looters who celebrated their conquest by setting the building ablaze.
There was little of value left in the scorched rooms, now strewn with junk and debris
DailyMail.com alerted police and offered to supply our images to investigators but as of Sunday night they had not taken us up on the offer
When DailyMail.com journalists visited the scene over the weekend there was still no visible police presence whatsoever. ‘The message coming from the looters was loud and clear,’ our photojournalist remarked. ‘We are in charge now and we will do whatever we like’
DailyMail.com’s photojournalist added: ‘There could have been guns in there – or vital evidence in a court case. I didn’t stay to find out as the whole feeling was of one of total lawlessness’
‘I expected the precinct would be back in the hands of the police by Saturday but the looters were still coming and going as they pleased,’ our journalist added
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey defended the retreat by revealing officers were facing the threat of ‘hand to hand’ combat with looters who celebrated their conquest by setting the building ablaze
Nearby was a plastic evidence bag containing surgical gloves and a box cutter that had the word ‘weapons’ written on it and appeared to be encrusted with blood
Pushing back against claims that he was ‘content with letting the city be overrun’, Frey said Police Chief Medaria Arradondo had agreed it was best to ‘deescalate the situation’.
‘We are a police force totaling over 800 officers with far, far less than that on active duty at a given time,’ Frey said.
‘Simply by the numbers, we were going to be overwhelmed. It’s a matter of math, not planning.’
Critics said abandoning the police precinct emboldened rioters and fed the impression the city was out of control.
Several rioters were photographed inside the building, roaming the blackened corridors with baseball bats, axes and torches while daubing words such as Pigs and Fredom (sic) on the walls.
The images prompted an angry reaction from President Donald Trump, who accused ‘Radical Left Mayor’ Frey of showing ‘a total lack of leadership’.
Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz weighed in also, calling the city’s response to the riots an ‘abject failure’.
Pictured a man standing guard as two men attempt to crack a safe inside the burned out 3rd Precinct in Minneapolis on Saturday
Critics said abandoning the police precinct emboldened rioters and fed the impression the city was out of control
Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz weighed in also, calling the city’s response to the riots an ‘abject failure’
Police eventually used pepper spray and batons to disperse protesters outside the 3rd Precinct when they returned around 4.30am
Police eventually used pepper spray and batons to disperse protesters outside the 3rd Precinct when they returned around 4.30am.
Demonstrations have broken out across the US over the death of Floyd who was arrested on Memorial Day by four officers who worked at the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct.
Floyd, 46, was arrested for allegedly trying to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill.
He was seen in a video pleading that he couldn’t breathe as white officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Chauvin refused to relent despite Floyd becoming unresponsive for the final three minutes of his fatal ordeal.
The shaven-haired officer was arrested Friday and charged with third degree murder and second degree manslaughter.
He is currently being housed at Oak Park Heights Prison on the border with Wisconsin, one of the most secure correctional facilities in the US.
Floyd’s family has called for more serious charges to be brought against Chauvin and the other three officers – J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao – who were all fired after cell phone video of his brutal death went viral.