Fatal police shooting draws investigation and protests
MINNEAPOLIS >> Minnesota state authorities are investigating after Minneapolis police shot and killed a black man they say had been firing a handgun as he walked outside.
Roughly 300 people gathered for a Sunday afternoon protest at a police station and a vigil near the north Minneapolis shooting scene was set for the evening, the Star Tribune reported. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting, said in a statement that it will release the names of the officers who shot their weapons after “both” have provided interviews.
“At the end of the day, we know that no matter what transpired in the moments leading up to the shooting, we know with certainty that the outcome is a tragedy,” Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement. He didn’t march in a Sunday parade celebrating gay pride to focus on the shooting.
Authorities said two calls to 911 reported that a man was firing a handgun into the air and the ground. The bureau said he was sitting on a curb with a woman when police arrived, and then ran from officers while holding a black and silver gun.
Minneapolis police pursued and then shot the man, who was pronounced
dead Saturday at the scene. The BCA said officials recovered a black and silver handgun from the area.
The bureau said officers’ body cameras recorded the shooting, but squad car cameras did not. Both officers are on administrative leave.
Agents are interviewing witnesses and participants in the incident. The bureau said it would perform a “thorough investigation” and turn over the findings for review to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Some witnesses have disputed the police account of the shooting, saying the man did not have a gun.
Among the witnesses who said the man did not have a gun was Eva Watson. She told the Star Tribune that the man was starting to comply with officers when police shocked him with a Taser. Watson said he then started running and yelling, “Don’t shoot!” and she then heard more than a dozen shots.
“He didn’t have a gun or anything,” Watson said.
“He was just sitting there. He got killed for nothing.”
Katya Kelly, the sister of the man’s girlfriend, said he had a bottle in his hand as he and his girlfriend walked to her house. The Minneapolis NAACP wrote in a Facebook post that witnesses said he had been drinking out of a cup. The group called for body camera footage to be released.
The man is the 30th person killed by police in Minneapolis since 2000, according to the Star Tribune.