The officer who shot and killed a young black man in a Minneapolis suburb has resigned along with the chief of police, as the city prepares for more unrest in response to the incident.
Mike Elliott, Brooklyn Center mayor, said at a press briefing on Tuesday that Kim Potter, the officer who shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop on Sunday, was leaving the force, as was Tim Gannon, the chief of police. Brooklyn Center’s city council had passed a resolution a day earlier calling for their resignations.
“I’m hoping that this will help bring some calm to the community,” Elliott told reporters. “Although ultimately I think people want justice, they want full accountability under the law, and so that’s what we’re going to continue to work for. We have to make sure that justice is served, that justice is done.”
Gannon previously said that Potter had intended to use a Taser on Wright and mistakenly fired her gun instead. He described the incident as an “accidental discharge” of a firearm.
The death sparked two nights of protests just miles from where former police officer Derek Chauvin is standing trial on charges of killing George Floyd. The shooting of Wright has further stoked concerns about racial injustice in policing.
Video and photos shared by journalists and activists on social media showed officers using tear gas and flash-bang grenades to break up a demonstration at the city’s police department after protesters remained in the streets past a 7pm curfew.
Local officials said 40 people were arrested in connection with Monday night’s demonstrations, which resulted in minor injuries to a few police officers.
Residents in the Twin Cities area were already on edge in the middle of Chauvin’s murder trial for Floyd’s death, which sparked worldwide protests over race and policing. The city has tightened security during the trial, and officials are braced for further unrest when a verdict is returned, which could happen in the coming weeks.
Judge Peter Cahill denied a defence request to sequester the Chauvin jury following Wright’s shooting, saying the incident was “a totally different case”. Chauvin’s team began presenting its case to jurors on Tuesday after the prosecution rested its case.
Barack Obama, the former US president, and his wife Michelle, said in a statement that the Wright shooting underscored “just how badly we need to reimagine policing and public safety in this country”.
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April 14, 2021 at 02:32AM
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Minnesota officer who shot black man resigns along with police chief - Financial Times
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