MINNEAPOLIS _ Marchers protesting the Wednesday night shooting death of Philando Castile by police caused an hours-long shutdown of part of Interstate 94 west of downtown St. Paul, starting just before nightfall Saturday, with dozens of police officers decked out in riot gear and using tear gas and smoke bombs to try to disperse the crowd.
Around 11:15 p.m., police began arresting people one by one, escorting them to a law enforcement bus, but scores of protesters stayed at the scene. As police advanced, some marchers retreated up the hill and left the freeway.
"Make some noise, loud enough for the people on the paddy wagon to hear us," demonstrators yelled to onlookers.
Three officers were reportedly injured after being hit by glass bottles or fireworks thrown by protesters, and demonstrators on an overpass threw objects at officers and dumped liquid on them, according to the St. Paul Police Department's Twitter feed.
Police confirmed that I-94 was still closed from Highway 280 to the downtown St. Paul exits, hours after the disruption began. As early as 7 p.m., officers were diverting traffic off I-94 at Lexington Avenue as massive logjams began to form.
In the heat of the protest, as many as 300 protesters were blocking both the eastbound and westbound lanes of the major traffic artery connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul near the Lexington exits. Many sat down on the freeway while others stood, the air filled with yelling and chanting. Around 10:45 p.m., the crowd broke out in a chorus of Prince's "Purple Rain," a Minneapolis anthem. Protesters had moved a small pickup onto the highway and were broadcasting with sound equipment.
Some onlookers were climbing over the freeway fence to join the blockade, with the crowd swelling as people filled the freeway lanes in both directions.
Around 10 p.m., officers had issued the 16th order to vacate the interstate, and protesters were not budging.
Officers set off smoke bombs to disperse the protesters. About 100 feet away from the crowd, police cars with lights flashing were lined up in force, with officers addressing the marchers over loudspeakers and ordering them to "leave now" or face arrests.
At one point, two dozen officers in riot gear marched on the crowd, a paddy wagon following behind.
No arrests were reported by about 10 p.m., said St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders, but by 11:45 police were observed taking people into custody.
Marchers, some of whom had earlier demonstrated at the governor's residence on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, were beating drums and chanting slogans, including "Black lives matter." One protester's sign read: "We are not target practice."
About 9 p.m. on Twitter, Black Lives Matter Minneapolis posted: "We shut down 94 for Philando. We are gonna need bail money. Please make a gift now."
Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria worker from St. Paul, was fatally shot by a police officer Wednesday night during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights. The aftermath, as he lay dying in the driver's seat, was live-streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend sitting alongside him while her 4-year-old sat in the back seat.
His death, coming one day after the fatal shooting of another black man, Alton Sterling, in Louisiana and one day before a sniper killed five police officers in Dallas, has put Minnesota in the center of national anguish over race and law enforcement.
