Protests as officer who shot dead black man ‘meant to use Taser’

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 Center 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 officers charged over George Floyd’s death.

Hundreds of protesters faced off against police in Brooklyn Center 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 crowd.

Law enforcement agencies had stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area after violence on Sunday night and the number of national guard troops was expected to more than double to 1,000-plus.

Police released body camera footage showing the officer involved – 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 and gets back behind the wheel of his car.

After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away and the officer is heard saying: “Holy (expletive)! I shot him.”

Brooklyn Center 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.”

Brooklyn Center is a small suburb just north of Minneapolis that has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70 per cent of the city was white. Today, a majority are black, Asian or Latino.

Mr Elliott, the city’s first black mayor, was joined by Keith Ellison, the state’s first black attorney general, in addressing a group of protesters yesterday not far from the police department – telling the demonstrators to use their voices, but remain safe.

“We are going to get to the bottom of this, we are going to make sure that there’s justice, that there’s officers held accountable,” Mr Elliott told protesters.

Mr Ellison reminded the crowd he currently is leading the prosecution of the the first officer charged over Mr Floyd’s death, and promised Mr Wright’s death will not be “swept under the rug”.

Mr Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office said. Mr Gannon would not say whether Ms Potter would be sacked, but said: “I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning.”

Court records show Mr Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June. His mother, Katie Wright, said her son called her as he was getting pulled over.

During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying: “Daunte, don’t run,” before the call ended. When she called back, her son’s girlfriend answered and said he had been shot.

His brother, Dallas Bryant, told about a hundred people gathered for a candlelight vigil yesterday evening that Mr Wright sounded scared during the phone call, and questioned how the officer could mistake a gun for a Taser.

“You know the difference between plastic and metal. We all know it,” he said.

The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in Mr Floyd’s death, continued yesterday. Mr Floyd, a black man, died on May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee down on his neck.

We are going to get to the bottom of this, we are going to make sure that there’s justice