Minneapolis police have fired a man who they say shot dead officers at a stop on Wednesday night – the first police shooting in the city since George Floyd’s death on May 25.
In a press conference Wednesday night, Medaria Arradondo, police chief, said officers handling warrants and drug investigations pulled the driver off because they believed he had committed a crime, but Arradondo said he did not know specifically what the alleged crime was. is not.
Police said the man shot first and that they would release footage of the body of the incident on Thursday. No officers were injured. They did not disclose the race or identity of the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene, or of the officers involved in the shooting. A woman was also with the man in the car during the shooting, but she was not injured.
The Star Tribute reported that according to the emergency sound, an officer sent to the radio immediately after the shooting and said: ‘We have two people in the vehicle, one man is down, we have another woman in the car with her hands up. ‘
A crowd of protesters gathered Wednesday night after the shooting. Police Chief Arradondo called on protesters to remain peaceful, saying Minneapolis police would respect their right to protest while the state criminal investigation bureau takes over the investigation, but that “we do not allow destructive criminal behavior to take place.”
“As chief, I recognize the trauma our city has been in, and we want to do everything in our power to maintain peace,” Arradondo said. “Our city has gone through too much. We need to keep our officers safe, our community needs to stay safe, and I tell you, we need to preserve the crime scene.”
According to the Star Tribune, protesters built bonfires in the street to stay warm, threw snowballs at police and the scene ‘sometimes got tense’ but mostly remained peaceful. Protesters disperse around 1 a.m. when temperatures drop below ten degrees.
After Floyd was assassinated in May, Black Lives Matter protests took place in cities and towns across the country. Demonstrations in Minneapolis in particular became violent when police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as some protesters rioted and looted shops. One man was shot dead outside a pawn shop.
“Events of the past year have marked some of the darkest days in our city. We know that life is cut short and that trust between communities of color and law enforcement is fragile. Rebuilding that trust will depend on complete transparency,” Minneapolis said. said the mayor. Jacob Frey said in a statement: “We must all commit ourselves to obtaining the facts, pursuing justice and maintaining peace.”