A year after Mr. Floyd was killed by the police, the city of Minneapolis removed barricades around the square. It said it will preserve the artwork and memorials there.
MINNEAPOLIS — Crews in Minneapolis dismantled barriers around George Floyd Square early Thursday morning, in a move to reopen the intersection where George Floyd was killed beneath the knee of a police officer just over a year ago.
Sarah McKenzie, a spokeswoman for the city of Minneapolis, said that the city was working with a community group and that crew members were taking care to preserve the artwork, artifacts and other memorials at the square, including the sculpture of a raised fist. “There is a reopening process underway,” she said.
After Mr. Floyd’s death, the four-block area of South Minneapolis where he was killed has become a memorial where people gathered to mourn his death, but also to protest against police brutality. In the months that followed, it turned into something of an autonomous zone, with the police staying away to avoid stoking tensions. Signs around the square, with has been blocked off by concrete barriers, call the area “the free state of George Floyd.”
The area has suffered a spike in gun violence, and shooting victims have been dragged to ambulances because barriers have kept police and emergency vehicles at a distance from the square.
What to do with the memorial site where Mr. Floyd was killed has become its own controversy, with some community activists saying it has become a haven for criminal activity.
On Thursday morning, dozens of city workers and their vehicles were scattered through the area, and caution tape lined the sidewalks. Security booths were taken away on a truck. People gathered to watch city workers move the barricades blocking the intersection near Cup Foods, the convenience store in South Minneapolis where a teenage clerk called 911 to report that Mr. Floyd had bought cigarettes using a fake $20 bill.
Ms. McKenzie said the city was committed to a long-term plans for a memorial at the site.
“We certainly acknowledge this intersection will never return to normal, but we’ve heard from residents and businesses that really need to reconnect their neighborhood,” she said. She added that once the barriers had been removed, vehicle traffic would be able to drive through the intersection.
Ms. McKenzie said the city would provide more details later in the day.
John Eligon contributed reporting.
