Better response to protests

State, county and city leaders faced a big test in the aftermath of the tragic killing of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old man shot by former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly A. Potter.

Tensions were heightened because Wright’s death came during the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis last May.

Credit Gov. Tim Walz, state Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington and local leaders who formed Operation Safety Net to better coordinate public safety efforts after last year’s rioting and leadership missteps.

Most protesters also have peacefully exercised their First Amendment rights in Brooklyn Center and notably with Floyd’s family in front of the Hennepin County Government Center, where Chauvin’s trial is taking place.

Not all have followed their lead, however. Some have turned violent, pelting those in uniform with bottles and other dangerous projectiles. Hundreds have ignored curfews and calls to disperse, and a few looted local retail establishments in Brooklyn Center.

Such actions ignore pleas from the Wright family to keep the focus on Daunte, and those behaviors detract from the legitimate message of ending the scourge of Black citizens being injured or killed in police encounters.

Amid the glare of the Chauvin trial, which is being covered by foreign and national correspondents, the international image of Minnesota is undergoing enduring damage.

What the world will hopefully see going forward is an earnest attempt by authorities to allow for legitimate expression of First Amendment rights by peaceful protests and a free and unfettered press.