Protesters plan to shut down light rail before Vikings game

Published 8:02 am Friday, September 18, 2015

ST. PAUL — The St. Paul chapter of Black Lives Matter plans to shut down a light-rail line to protest excessive police force before Sunday’s Minnesota Vikings home opener.

The group said on Facebook the protest will be held near a light-rail station in St. Paul. The group is protesting how Metro Transit officers treated a 17-year-old boy with autism at that station on Aug. 31.

Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla says the two officers saw the teen standing on the tracks and told him to get off. After the boy got back on the platform, Padilla says the teen suffered a cut lip while the officers took him into custody. The boy was taken to a hospital and released to his mother.

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Padilla says the incident remains under investigation.