State Patrol officers acknowledge knifing people's tires during Minneapolis Black Lives Matter protests, saying they were 'strategically deflated'

• Minnesota State Patrol officers slashed tires on cars parked near Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis last month.
• Videos from May 30-31 posted to social media showed dozens of car tires slashed in a Kmart parking lot and on Washington Avenue in Minneapolis.
• "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," the Department of Public Safety told the Star Tribune.
• Deputies with the Anoka County Sheriff's Office also slashed tires at the behest of the State Patrol, the sheriff's office said.

Officers with the Minnesota State Patrol deliberately slashed tires on cars parked near the city's protests over the death of George Floyd, saying they were "strategically deflated."

State Patrol officers and deputies with the Anoka County Sheriff's Office were given the green light to slash tires by the Multi-Agency Command Center, the body coordinating the police response to the Minneapolis protests, on May 30-31, the Star Tribune reported.

"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," Bruce Gordon, a Minnesota Department of Public Safety spokesman, told the Star Tribune.

Officers targeted cars "that contained items used to cause harm during violent protests," he said.

"While not a typical tactic, vehicles were being used as dangerous weapons and inhibited our ability to clear areas and keep areas safe where violent protests were occurring," Gordon added.

Anoka County Sheriff's Office deputies followed the State Patrol's lead and also cut numerous tires on Minneapolis' Washington Avenue, the office told the Star Tribune.

Among those whose car tires were slashed was the Star Tribune reporter Chris Serres, who was covering the protests on the ground, the outlet reported. A documentary and television producer named Andrew Kimmel also had his car tires slashed and documented the damage.

The trend was first reported by Mother Jones, which collected a stream of video posts from social media showing damaged tires and footage of state officers hacking at tires with knives.

—Cory Provost (@coryprovost) June 9, 2020

—Jeff Wagner (@Jeff_Wagner4) May 31, 2020

—janus (@spaghettimovie) June 9, 2020

—Jeff Wagner (@Jeff_Wagner4) May 31, 2020

—brandi (@brandiiimariiie) May 31, 2020

—Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) May 31, 2020

—Philippe Leblanc (@phil_leblancSRC) May 31, 2020