Dozens protest fatal shooting of St. Paul man
Published 10:20 am Monday, January 11, 2016
By Nick Woltman
St. Paul Pioneer Press
St. Paul — Despite single-digit temperatures, dozens of people turned out Saturday to protest the September fatal shooting of an American Indian man by a St. Paul police officer.
Demonstrators at the “Justice for Phil Quinn” rally, which began about 1 p.m. at Snelling and University avenues, briefly disrupted light-rail service and marched through nearby retail stores.
There were no arrests in connection with the rally, St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said. Green Line light-rail service was disrupted momentarily by protesters at various times during the demonstration but there were no significant delays, Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla said.
Fifty to 60 demonstrators assembled near the University and Snelling intersection before marching through the Midway SuperTarget, Walmart and a Cub Foods store, said Darleen Tareeq, Quinn’s fiancee and one of the rally’s organizers. The protest ended about 3 p.m., she added.
The demonstration drew supporters from a handful of advocacy organizations, including Native Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter St. Paul.
Tareeq has said that on Sept. 24, she called for help to get Quinn, 30, to a hospital because he was trying to kill himself at their West Seventh-area home. Quinn had schizophrenia, she says.
Police said Quinn was holding a screwdriver, ignored an officer’s repeated commands to drop it and charged at the officer, who could retreat no farther and shot Quinn.
Tareeq, who saw what happened, disputes most of the police account. The case will go to a grand jury for review.