Protests for second night in Minneapolis
POLICE have clashed with protesters for a second night in a Minneapolis suburb where an officer shot a black man dead during a traffic stop.
Brooklyn Centre police chief Tim Gannon described the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright on Sunday as “an accidental discharge”, saying that the officer involved apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun.
The shooting sparked protests and unrest in an area of the state of Minnesota already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged over George Floyd’s death.
Hundreds of protesters faced off against police in Brooklyn Centre after nightfall on Monday, hours after a dusk-to-dawn curfew was announced by the governor.
When the protesters would not disperse, police began firing gas canisters and flash grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some protesters away.
A long line of police in riot gear, rhythmically pushing their clubs in front of them, began slowly forcing back the remaining crowds.
Law enforcement agencies had stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area after violence on Sunday night.
The number of Minnesota National Guard troops was expected to more than double to 1,000-plus by Monday night.
Authorities released body camera footage that showed the officer involved – named later as 26-year veteran Kim Potter – shouting at Mr Wright as police tried to arrest him.
“I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” she can be heard saying. She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel.
After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away and the officer is heard saying: “Holy (expletive)! I shot him.”
Brooklyn Centre mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting “deeply tragic” and said the officer should be sacked.
He said: “We’re going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole.”
Mr Elliott later announced that the city council had voted to give his office “command authority” over the police department.
This “will streamline things and establish a chain of command and leadership”, he wrote on Twitter.
He also said the city manager had been sacked, and the deputy city manager would take over his duties.
The reason behind the firing was not immediately clear, but the city manager controls the police department, according to the city’s charter.
Now-former city manager Curt Boganey, speaking earlier to reporters, declined to say whether he believed the officer should be fired.