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Police chief says Daunte Wright’s death involved the "accidental" use of a gun, where a Taser was the intended weapon.
Local authorities in Minneapolis are preparing for further unrest after the police arrested 40 people for protesting on the second night of violence in a Minneapolis suburb. The protesters are "rioting" over the police killing of yet another young Black man in the city.
On Sunday 11th April, a Brooklyn Center police officer shot and killed Daunte Wright, 20-year-old father of one, during a traffic stop. The officer who killed Wright allegedly intended to use a Taser, and mistakenly fired her gun instead, claims Brooklyn Center police chief, Tim Gannon. He described the incident as an "accidental discharge" of a firearm. The police department later released video footage from a body camera that showed three officers gathered around a stopped car. When an officer attempts to handcuff Mr. Wright, a struggle ensues. Another officer is heard yelling: "Taser, Taser, Taser", and then, "Oh sh**, I shot him." Gannon said: "As I watched the video and listened to the officer’s commands, it is my belief that the officer intended to deploy their Taser but instead shot Wright with a single bullet." This proved fatal. Wright died at the scene.
The police officer responsible, Kim Potter, has since taken administrative leave.
Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the shooting. Minnesota Commissioner of Public Safety, John Harrington, said it was "too early for us to make any real comment on (the shooting) other than BCA has been deployed." The local medical coroner has said that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest, and has ruled the cause of death as a homicide.
Authorities claim that Mr. Wright was pulled over for having an "expired registration",
and that the police tried to arrest him after discovering he had an outstanding
warrant. Before crashing, Mr. Wright managed to drive several blocks despite
suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the medical examiner.
In the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area, public officials have called for calm as a state of emergency was declared, and an overnight curfew was imposed until 6am on Tuesday 13th. The Minnesota National Guard said it "planned to double its presence to 1,000 troops in the region by the end of Monday." At press conferences on Tuesday morning, local officials said that 40 people had been arrested at the protests overnight, and that some law enforcement officers had sustained minor injuries.
Journalists and activists have shared video and photo footage on social media, showing officers using tear gas and flash-bang grenades to break up a demonstration at the city’s police department, after protesters remained in the streets past an enforced 7pm curfew. Rioters looted a local Dollar Tree store, according to some media reports, and firefighters were deployed.
"Move back!" The police ordered.
"Hands up! Don't shoot!" The crowds chanted back.
The chaotic scenes in the past few days are a direct parallel to events that unfolded almost a year ago, when protesters and police clashed internationally after a former police officer (Derek Chauvin) knelt on the neck of George Floyd, who subsequently died. Currently, Minneapolis is in the midst of Chauvin’s murder trial over Floyd’s death. Judge Peter Cahill denied the defence’s request to sequester the jury following Wright’s shooting, saying the incident was "a totally different case".
Benjamin Crump, the lawyer who helped win a $27m civil settlement for the Floyd family, said he was now representing the Wright family: "Daunte Wright is yet another young Black man killed at the hands of those who have sworn to protect and serve all of us - not just the whitest among us."
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