Protesters call for change in response to controversial video of Edina arrest

EDINA, Minn. (KMSP) - Close to 100 protesters marched on the streets in Edina, in response to a video of a controversial arrest.

Last week, a video surfaced of an officer arresting Larnie Thomas, who was walking in the street where the sidewalk was under construction near Xerxes and West 60th.

Police say before the camera started recording, the officer had repeatedly asked him to move out of the street. Edina leaders dropped the citation earlier this week and they are planning to review police protocol.

Protesters say they believe Thomas wasn't treated fairly.

Saturday afternoon, protesters took their anger to the steps of city hall.

“But as soon as a black man comes walking down the street - he's criminalized, he's racialized, he's traumatized and he's ostracized,” said Danny Givens, the protest organizer, to the crowd.

People wore shirts bearing the words “I am a man” and chanted as they marched down 50th Street.

“We will not lose another brother to police violence or police injustice, so if all it takes is my voice to get people to open their eyes and their ears, I'm coming,” said John Thompson, a protester.

The group stopped at 50th and France where for thirty minutes they blocked the intersection, calling for change and acceptance.

“I'm a man, treat me like a man,” said Thompson. “Treat me like you treat every other man, every other man that's not of color. Treat me like that.”

The Edina City Manager says the protest remained peaceful and there were no arrests.