Minneapolis Review

St. Paul Police denied the “umbrella man” seen smashing windows at a local AutoZone store in a video that went viral in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd was one of the force’s own – Officer Jacob Pederson.

Floyd died on May 25 after being taken into custody by Minneapolis/St. Paul officers over a forgery accusation. A video taken by bystanders showed Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck as the man complained he couldn’t breathe.

Chauvin kept him restrained in the position despite pleas from bystanders to check on the man’s welfare. Floyd was pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital.

Chauvin and three other officers were fired in the wake of the incident, and Chauvin was taken into custody by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and charged with murder today. 

After the video showing Floyd’s arrest went viral, unrest in the community followed, including protests in the streets, riots and vandalism like the window smashing at Auto Zone where a man carrying an umbrella was recorded on video. 

Angry comments on Twitter came from viewers who saw the video, according to a report on Heavy.com.

“Convince me this guy that started the sh’t at Autozone windows is not a COP,” a woman named Molly wrote.

People accused Pederson of being the “umbrella man” and said the St. Paul Police were deliberately trying to foment violence so they could crackdown on protesters and absolve Chauvin and the other three officers of responsibility for Floyd’s death.

“Here is a video of the incident which shows protesters trying to stop him from smashing the windows,” one Twitter user wrote. “We need to be aware of police purposefully creating violence just to give justification for future forceful reactionary measures. The narrative is ours and we must control it.”

One person on social media claimed to have recognized Pederson in the window-smashing video from the gas mask and gloves he’s wearing.

A local writer named Dylan Park used Twitter to point the finger at police and said the investigation into the matter was to get the officers involved in the incident “off the hook.”

Park also said he has been threatened on Twitter because of his messages accusing the police.

“My grandfather used to get the same death threats and he never backed down ever,” Park posted on Twitter. “On February 12, 1974, Klan members walked into his house and killed him while he was sitting on the couch watching TV with his family in the next room. I am black you dumb motherf*cker. My grandfather was murdered by the KKK. My little brother was murdered by a white boy. I’m angry. F*ck off.”

St. Paul officers in a statement to Heavy denied the “umbrella man” was one of their own.

“We are aware of the social media post that erroneously identifies one of our officers as the person caught on video breaking windows in Minneapolis,” St. Paul Police officers said. “We want to be perfectly clear about this: The person in the video is not our officer. Our officer has been working hard, serving his community, keeping people and property safe, and protecting the right to peacefully assemble. It’s unfortunate that people would post and share this untrue information, adding more confusion to an already painful time in our community.”

The officers added they had proof Pederson was not the man in the video.

Steve Linders, public information officer for the St. Paul Police Department, told Heavy.com that Pederson’s whereabouts at the time of the window smashing has been verified, that he had an alibi and was on the job performing normal duties as a police officer at the time, “protecting people and property.”

Police refused a request from Heavy reporters to interview Pederson and declined to comment on whether the true identity of the umbrella man is known.