Black Lives Matter issues Super Bowl 'travel alert' warning about alleged St. Paul police brutality

Black Lives Matter issued a "travel alert" this week warning black people and other people of color to "exercise caution" while visiting the Minneapolis/St. Paul-area for Super Bowl LII.

What did the group say?

According to a BLM Minnesota Facebook post, the "alert" was issued "to warn African Americans and people of color to exercise caution as safety and well-being risks may be presented by St. Paul Police and/or St. Paul Police K9."

"The St. Paul police department is the deadliest department in the state of Minnesota, killing more people annually than any other department in the state," the group claimed. "African Americans and other people of color are especially at risk."

The advisory is needed because of the St. Paul police department's history of police brutality, the group claimed. They listed eight recent "unjustified homicides at the hands of the St. Paul police" and eight "non-lethal but dangerous incidents involving St. Paul police officers" as evidence the St. Paul police department is a threat to people of color.

"This travel alert will remain in effect until African-Americans and people of color have equal protection under new laws, by which, police experience real consequences and appropriate penalties for misconduct," the group said.

Trahern Crews, a spokesman for BLM Minnesota, told the Twin Cities Pioneer Press that his organization isn't "discouraging" tourists from visiting the area, they simply want to warn about the threat they believe police pose.

The same organization held a protest on Monday to open the Super Bowl's week of festivities.

"What we are trying to say is what we are doing out here is more important than what’s going on in there. We need the city and the state to value our lives more than this game," a group spokesman told USA Today about the protests.