Problems erupted again during a second night of protests outside police headquarters in suburban Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis, a day after one of city officials shot dead a 20-year-old black man, Daunte Wright, during a traffic stop, CBS Minnesota reports.
Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon told a news conference Monday that the officer who shot Wright intended to use her Taser, but grabbed the gun. Kim Potter, a 26-year-old force veteran, has been put on administrative leave.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehreh is investigating Wright’s death.
Sunday’s shooting came in the midst of Derek Chauvin’s trial for the murder of George Floyd.
A curfew at 7pm in Hennepin County did not deter hundreds of protesters on Monday as they sang outside the headquarters. The building was closed. Brooklyn Center agents outside were reinforced by state soldiers and members of the Minnesota National Guard.
After ignoring several dispersal orders, flashbangs and tear gas were deployed. Protesters fought with fireworks launched against law enforcement.
Tear gas fired every few minutes drove the crowd away from the front of the building around 9:30 p.m.
Soon after, law enforcement began advancing on protesters and firing rubber bullets, Dave Schuman of CBS Minnesota reported from the scene. About the same time, Brooklyn Center City Council voted to ban its officers from using rubber bullets and chemical irritants to control crowds.
The crowd had shrunk sharply by 10:30 p.m., as members of law enforcement expanded the perimeter. Schuman tweeted that police had set up a line at a gas station a few blocks away.
Authorities said in an early-morning briefing that about 40 people had been arrested, some officers suffered minor injuries and there were some cases of looting.
Katie Wright / CBS Minnesota