Brooklyn Downtown City Manager Curt Boganey was fired Monday night, hours after he publicly disagreed with Mayor Mike Elliott’s claim that the police officer who fatally shot a black man in the Minneapolis suburb , had to be fired immediately in response to the incident.
“Our city manager will be immediately relieved of his duties, and the deputy city manager will assume his duties going forward,” Elliott said. posted on Twitter. “I will continue to work my hardest to ensure good leadership at all levels of our city government.”
Daunte Wright, 20, was fatally shot dead during a stop. Bodycam footage showed three officers stopped near a car that police said had fallen into disrepair for registration. Police tried to arrest the man, who was later identified as Wright, due to an outstanding warrant. A fight ensued, followed by the fatal shooting.
Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said the officer who shot Wright dead was planning to fire a Taser, not their service weapon. Authorities did not release the name of the female officer involved in the shooting.
The Brooklyn Center City Council has voted to fire Boganey, a longtime city employee, during an emergency meeting, the Star Tribune reported. At the same meeting, the council voted to give the mayor command over the city’s police department.
During a virtual workshop after the meeting, councilor Kris Lawrence-Anderson said she voted according to the newspaper to fire Boganey for fear of potential retaliation from protesters.
“He did a great job. I respect him a lot, “said Lawrence-Anderson. “I did not want consequences on a personal level.”
Both Elliott and Boganey took potential disciplinary action against the officer during a press conference earlier in the day. Elliott at the time demanded that the officer be fired.
“Let me be very clear. My position is that we can not afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession,” Elliott said. “I fully support the release of her official.”
Before Elliott left the podium, he noted that Boganey, as city manager, has the authority to determine whether the officer will be fired. Boganey noted that he did not act immediately to remove the officer.
“All employees who work for the City of Brooklyn Center are entitled to a proper disciplinary process,” Boganey said. “This employee will get a proper process and that’s really all I can say today.”
When asked if he personally believes the officer should be fired, Boganey again called for the right process.
“If I were to answer the question, I would contradict what I said a moment ago – that is, all employees are entitled to a proper process, and thereafter discipline will be determined,” Boganey said. “If I were to say anything else, I would contradict the idea of proper process.”
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.