Minnesota mayor blasts police tactics

Elected leaders in the Minneapolis suburb where a police officer fatally shot Daunte Wright want officers to scale back their tactics amid nightly protests, leav- ing some law enforcement called in to assist asking if the city still wants their help.

Hundreds of demonstra- tors have gathered outside the heavily guarded Brooklyn Center police station every night since former Officer

Kim Potter, who is white, shot the 20-year-old Black motorist during a traffic stop on Sunday. Protesters have shouted profanities and at times shaken a security fence police erected outside the building and lobbed water bottles at officers. Police have driven away protesters with tear gas grenades, rubber bullets, flash-bang grenades and long lines of riot police.

Xzavion Martin, 16, lives in an apartment across the street from the police station. He said rubber bul- lets have landed on his second-story balcony and tear gas has seeped inside.

“We can’t just have our window open any more with- out thinking about if there’s going to be some gas coming in,” he said. “There’s kids in this building that are really scared to come back. They are in hotels because of this.”

The tactics have not sat well with Brooklyn Center city officials.

Mayor Mike Elliott, who is Black, said at a news conference that “gassing is not a human way of policing,” and he didn’t agree with police using pepper spray, tear gas and paintballs against demonstrators. Elliott didn’t respond to multiple messages Friday morning.

Protests have continued since Potter was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter. The former police chief in the majority nonwhite suburb said Potter fired her pistol when she meant to use her Taser. Both Potter and the chief resigned Tuesday.

The Brooklyn Center City Council on Monday passed a resolution banning city officers from using tear gas, chokeholds and police lines to arrest demonstrators.