BROOKLYN CENTER, Minnesota – A third night of protests erupted in Minnesota Tuesday after the cop from the Brooklyn Center who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop resigned, as did police chief.
After calling the rally “illegal” and ordering it to disperse, hundreds of protesters stood their ground at the Brooklyn Police Department, which was surrounded with members of the national guard and fencing.
Not long after, clashes took place and the previous nights in which authorities used tear gas and other projectiles to disperse crowds. Dozens of people were also arrested during the protests, many of whom are peaceful.
Earlier Tuesday, hundreds of people gathered for a second vigil to honor Wright, who was killed Sunday when a 26-year-old veteran of the department accidentally shot him with her rifle instead of her Taser during a stopover.
“It could have been me, it could have been my little brother here, it could have been one of my friends,” said 16-year-old Brooklyn Center resident Blejay Gboweay. “We march here with everyone, bring unity and try to be involved.”
Princess Marie Quia, 15, a resident of Brooklyn City Center, said it’s hard to know someone in your street is dead.
“For what reason did they take another black life?” she said before the evening bell. “How are we supposed to live in this place and grow up, knowing I can be on the floor next time?”
The officer who killed Wright, Kim Potter and police chief Tim Gannon in the Brooklyn Center filed their resignations Tuesday, but tensions remained high as night fell and the evening clock dropped.
Police said officers pulled Wright into his car on Sunday afternoon for a dilapidated registration mark, claiming that when they ran his name through the system, he found he had a warrant for his arrest. According to court documents obtained by BuzzFeed News, he missed a court appearance for two charges of crimes: carrying a handgun without a permit and running away from police.
But when officers tried to arrest Wright, he tried to break free and get back into his car. Images from body camera footage Potter warns Wright that she will pursue him, but then she shoots him fatally.
“They could have given him a ticket for it. But if it’s black people in America, they’re making the greatest use of violence, and it’s deadly,” Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for Wright’s family, said in a statement. news said. conference.
Earlier in the day in an interview with Good morning America, Wright’s father, Aubrey Wright, said he “could not accept” the excuse that the fatal shooting at his son was a mistake.
Regardless of Potter’s intent, people in the greater Minneapolis area want her and the police stations to be generally responsible for taking the lives of black people. During a memorial service on Tuesday, speakers and organizers expressed frustration that Wright lost his life a year after George Floyd was killed by police and that their community continued to hurt.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the shooting, while the neighboring district attorney’s office in Washington County will make decisions on the charge.
Meanwhile, the greater Minneapolis area is awaiting real change. A 20-year-old man who mentioned her name as Maddie said during a memorial service on Tuesday that she remains eight blocks from where Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is currently on trial for murder in the death.
“I hate how much of a routine it has become … we post about it and then we move on,” she said. “I hope we find a way to build that momentum and bring about change.”