Black Lives Matter Minnesota is advising black visitors and other people of color to “exercise caution” while visiting St. Paul during Super Bowl LII.

“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,” reads the BLM advisory, the first such advisory issued by the group.

A spokesman for the St. Paul Police Department declined to comment Thursday.

Trahern Crews, a spokesman for Black Lives Matter Minnesota, said the group is not discouraging tourists from visiting St. Paul, but they want greater professional repercussions for officers who use unnecessary force.

Crews also noted incidents of police brutality have been alleged across the metro.

“In St. Paul, a disabled 52-year-old woman was mauled by a police dog while she was taking out the trash,” said Crews, referring to the Sept. 23 incident involving Desiree Collins. “Just be careful when you come to the Twin Cities area, not just St. Paul.”

Thursday’s “travel alert” included a list of eight people of color who had been killed in recent years in officer-involved incidents, such as Cordale Handy and Marcus Golden. In both cases, police alleged that the men approached them with the threat of deadly force, and prosecutors or a grand jury later declined to press charges against the officers involved.

The alert also listed eight non-fatal incidents where St. Paul police officers had used force on people of color, several of which resulted in large civil settlements paid out by the city.

In April, the St. Paul City Council agreed to a $2 million settlement — the city’s largest ever — with Frank Baker, who was bitten by a police canine and kicked in the chest by an officer in June 2016. The police chief had previously apologized for the incident. A state arbitrator ruled that an officer who was removed from the force for kicking Baker should be allowed to return to work.

The alert comes in advance of a “Take a Knee Nation” rally and protest planned for Sunday afternoon near U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the site of the Super Bowl. Related Articles Neighborhood girl finds and returns chef Justin Sutherland’s stolen knife roll

Therapy dog-in training stolen in St. Paul found, reunited with owners

St. Stanislaus’ longtime priest the Rev. John Clay leaves legacy of love. He died Sunday at age 94

St. Paul man threatened another man with a sword, charges say

Mural workshop, events at Victoria Theater Arts Center in St. Paul’s Frogtown this weekend and next Crews said Black Lives Matter Minnesota was led by activists from both the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas, including Corydon Nilsson, James Matias, Nitasha Abrego and Monique Cullars-Doty, who is Golden’s aunt.

Last June, the NAACP issued a similar “travel advisory” for the entire state of Missouri. The alert was prompted by a bill passed through the Missouri Legislature that makes it more difficult for employees to prove their race or gender directly led to unlawful discrimination.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, the city’s first African-American mayor, was elected in November on a platform that included police reform and diversifying the St. Paul Police Department and City Hall.