What started as a few dozen protesters has grown to over a hundred. People waved Black Lives Matter flags, beating music and chanting police. As the crowd grew, police reinforcements in tactical equipment arrived to secure the area.
At one point, people jumped on a car at the scene, and some were seen throwing concrete blocks. Police in riot when the crowd started progressing to maintain order. Katie Wright, the mother of the victim, climbed on a speaker and asked people to calm down.
It was taken at 7:15
Police sports utility vehicles were damaged – one threw a concrete block to smash windows, others stepped on the roof.Police moved in to try and maintain order.
The mother of the shooter climbed on a speaker and asked everyone to stop the violence. pic.twitter.com/RAbMxaSSel
– Ben Henry (@BenryNews) 12 April 2021
After marshals formed a rope in front of the protest, police eventually returned from the protesters, got into their vehicles and drove away, according to the social media reports of the scene.
Around nightfall, protesters regrouped at 63 and Lee. Activists gave speeches and led the crowd in singing and chanting as they gathered around a temporary memorial of chalk art and candles.
Around 9 p.m., crowds of protesters begin their journey to Brooklyn Center headquarters. From aerial material it appears that the police form a perimeter around the building.
“The officer who is shooting in Brooklyn Center today is tragic,” Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said on Twitter. “We ask the protesters to continue to be peaceful and that peaceful protesters are not treated with violence.”
Just after 9:30 p.m., officers declared the protest outside the police station an illegal meeting and gave them a ten-minute warning to clean up. About 25 minutes later, officers began firing less lethal rounds and grenades to disperse protesters remaining in the area.
The crowd moved across the street from the police station and continued singing. Social media reports show how officers flash from time to time and start less deadly rounds on protesters approaching police officers.
At about 10:15 a.m., Metro Transit said public transportation in Brooklyn City Center would be shut down at the request of law enforcement.
22:14 At the request of local law enforcement, Brooklyn Central Transit Center will not serve any further transportation of vehicles. -LN
– Metro Transit (@MetroTransitMN) 12 April 2021