Officials in the Twin Cities metro area ordered a curfew after protesters gathered outside the Brooklyn Center police station.
Hundreds of Minnesota National Guard troops were deployed to keep the peace after a police officer ‘accidentally’ shot a 20-year-old black man during a traffic stop.
Daunte Wright’s tragic death set off unrest and protests on Sunday night.
During the news conference, the Brooklyn Center Police Department released footage of the incident that occurred in a Minneapolis suburb only ten miles from where George Floyd died.
Police Chief Tim Gannon said that Wright was shot once after the traffic stop.
Two other officers approached his vehicle and the officer who pulled the trigger was standing behind them.
Wright struggled when one of the officers started to handcuff him. An officer shouted ‘Taser!’ at least three times before shooting the father, then said: “Oh, I just shot him.”
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled Wright’s death a homicide.
Crowds gathered outside the police station after bodycam footage was revealed, with hundreds chanting ‘Daunte Wright’ while others shouted obscenities at cops.
Jonathan Mason, a community activist, said: “This is murder. This is white supremacy. Who’s going to stand up for our ancestors who built this land but are still kept down?”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz imposed a curfew from 7 pm to 6 am for three counties that include Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center, and the capital of St. Paul. More than 500 members of the National Guard have been deployed to patrol around the Twin Cities and maintain order.
90 minutes after the curfew deadline, officers started firing flash-bang grenades and gas canisters to force people to go home. But some protesters who were wearing gas masks picked up the canisters and threw them back to the officers.
A candlelight memorial was etched for Wright on Monday night.
NAACP National President Derrick Johnson said in a statement that Wright “should be alive today.”
“Whether it be carelessness and negligence, or a blatant modern-day lynching, the result is the same. Another Black man has died at the hands of police,” he said.
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