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Protests in Minnesota after police shoot Black man
Protests broke out in the US state of Minnesota on Sunday after police fatally shot an African-American man at a traffic stop
Protests broke out in the US state of Minnesota on Sunday after police fatally shot an African-American man at a traffic stop. The incident occurred just 10 miles (16 kilometres) from a courtroom in nearby Minneapolis where a former police officer is on trial for killing George Floyd, which had led to anti-race protests and marches around the world in 2020.
Police fired rubber bullets and used tear gas as the crowd lobbed water bottles and garbage bags at the police as they faced off outside the police headquarters in Brooklyn Center, a city near Minneapolis, where the shooting took place. Protesters waved ‘Black Lives Matter’ flags, blasted music and chanted slogans directed at the police, according to reports.
StarTribune, a local news publication, reported National Guard troops arrived at the scene of the protests just before midnight as looters targeted a Walmart store and a shopping mall. Looting had spread to other areas as authorities imposed a night-time curfew till 6am.
The victim has been identified as Daunte Wright, 20. “Our entire community is filled with grief following today’s officer-involved shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old young man. Our hearts are with his family, and with all those in our community impacted by this tragedy,” said Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott on Twitter. “While we await additional information from the BCA (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension) who is leading the investigation, we continue to ask that members of our community gathering do so peacefully, amid our calls for transparency and accountability.”
Brooklyn Center police department said that officers had stopped a man for traffic violation on Sunday afternoon. They determined there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest. But when officers tried to take him into custody, he got back into the car.
At this time one of the officers, who has not been identified, shot at the driver. The man drove away nevertheless and crashed into another vehicle several blocks away. He was pronounced dead at the scene and a female passenger in the car is reported to have suffered life-threatening injuries.
Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon of Brooklyn Center Police Department told reporters at a news conference on Monday that he believes the officer intended to draw the taser to use on Wright but pulled the handgun instead. “This appears to me, from what I viewed, and the officer’s reaction in distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge.”
The police played a video of the shooting from the body cam of one of the officers.
Earlier, Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, told reporters, “All he did was have air fresheners in the car and they told him to get out of the car.”
StarTribune reported the victim had called his mother when he was pulled over. “He got out of the car, and his girlfriend said they shot him,” she said. “He got back into the car, and he drove away and crashed and now he’s dead on the ground since 1.47pm. ... Nobody will tell us anything. Nobody will talk to us. ... I said please take my son off the ground.”
The Sunday shooting took place just hours before a court was to resume proceedings in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer, for the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, in May 2020, which had sparked anti-race protests in the US and around the world.
Prosecution is wrapping up its case in which it deposed police officers, legal and medical experts and witnesses in proceedings that were aired live by many news channels.
