State of emergency after protests over police killing of Black man during stop
Minneapolis mayor also declares a curfew to stem violence
The mayor of Minneapolis declared a state of emergency last night and put the city under a 7pm curfew after protests over the police killing of a young Black man.
Daunte Wright, 20, was shot during a traffic stop on Sunday by a female officer who thought she was firing her Taser. “The anguish we are suffering cannot translate to violence,” mayor Jacob Frey said.
Protests over the killing erupted in the city on Sunday night and into yesterday morning, with police firing tear gas, according to witnesses. Brooklyn Center is a city with a population of about 30,000 people located on the northwest border of Minneapolis.
John Harrington, the commissioner of the Minneapolis Department of Public Safety, said that 20 businesses had been broken into and that shots had been fired during the protests.
Last night the mayor of Brooklyn Center Mike Elliott took control of the Brooklyn Center police department. He was given direct “command authority” of the police department after a city council vote.
In a statement, Brooklyn Center police said that officers had stopped Mr Wright on Sunday afternoon and, after determining the driver had an outstanding warrant, they tried to arrest him.
The statement said the driver re-entered the vehicle and drove away, at which point an officer fired at the vehicle, striking the driver. He drove for several blocks before crashing into another vehicle, police said.
Officials have not named the female officer involved but have said that she is on administrative leave while the investigation is carried out.
“It appears to me this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr Wright,” police chief Tim Gannon told a press conference yesterday.
According to the chief, the officer involved meant to reach for her Taser stun gun. In video footage, she can
be heard yelling, “I’ll Tase you. Taser! Taser! Taser!” while holding what appears to be a pistol, before shooting Mr Wright during a struggle with officers. “Holy shit, I just shot him,” she’s heard to tell her fellow officers as the car drives off.
Leaders across Minnesota have condemned Mr Wright’s death, including Minnesota governor Tim Walz. “Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wright’s family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement,” he said in a statement yesterday.
In Washington DC, Joe Biden said he had watched the footage, yet urged people to be calm. “We do know that the anger, pain and trauma amidst the Black community is real,” he said in the Oval Office. “But that does not justify violence and looting.”