Melee at Minneapolis library leads to calls to remove security agency

A melee outside the Franklin Library in Minneapolis involving contract security guards and an Indigenous man, who was banned from the facility, has activists and a county commissioner calling for the security firm’s removal.

The March 25 altercation ended with the man handcuffed to a fence and guards using pepper spray to disperse a crowd that formed.

“I don’t think bouncing someone’s face off the concrete should be part of any contract,” Mohammed Bilal, a community activist, told the Hennepin County Board during an open forum. Several members of the local Indigenous community spoke out Tuesday about ongoing problems with contractor Black Knight Protection Agency.

Commissioner Angela Conley, who represents District 4, including the Phillips neighborhood where Franklin is located, said it wasn’t the first time residents have complained about Black Knight. She told county administrators she wants Hennepin County’s in-house security working at the library instead.

“It should not have escalated that far in the first place,” Conley said. “They need to be pulled.”

In a statement, a Black Knight representative disputed that the man being restrained had his head hit the ground and said the agency’s guards acted appropriately in a volatile situation.

According to witnesses and a summary sent by county staff to commissioners:

Two Black Knight guards attempted to make a “citizen’s arrest” of a man who was recently banned from Franklin for drug use but kept returning to the library. After taking him to the ground, guards wrestled with the man and a crowd of about 25 people surrounded the melee, with some of them kicking and throwing things at the guards.

Guards eventually handcuffed the man to a fence and used pepper spray on the crowd after people refused to leave. Minneapolis police were called to clear the scene, but no arrests were made, so the only police record of the incident is a log of the 911 call.

Conley noted the challenges the Indigenous community in the Phillips neighborhood face and said security should prioritize tactics to defuse tense situations. Black Knight provides security at 15 county facilities, many of them libraries.

“What happened at the library was not de-escalation,” she said. “What happened was terrible.”

Activists want Black Knight removed immediately and replaced with security guards who are better trained.

“We need people working there who are educated, aware and culturally sensitive to the neighborhood they are in,” said Brandon Henry, a Native American activist who spoke about the incident Tuesday.

County staff’s review of the incident found the security firm “did not violate any policies and acted quickly to respond to a quickly escalating situation.” It noted that the guards warned the crowd and tried to get the situation under control before using pepper spray.

A video on social media only shows a portion of the incident.

Some county libraries are dealing with increasing public safety and health problems as community members turn to the facilities for more than just checking out books.

Hennepin County has had an in-house security force for 40 years. To supplement those guards, Black Knight Protection Agency was hired in 2021 when the County Board approved a $2 million contract for added security during the pandemic.

There have been 12 public complaints about Black Knight since the contract began, county officials said. The incident at Franklin was the first to accuse guards of excessive force.