A crowd gathers at the Brooklyn Center Police Department in Brooklyn Center, Minn., Monday, April 12, 2021, for a No Justice No Peace rally following the police shooting death of Daunte Wright. (Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via AP)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 8:54 AM PT – Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Law enforcement officials reported at least 40 arrests have been made in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota after protests broke out over the shooting death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright.
During a press conference Tuesday, Col. Matt Langer announced the arrests vary from curfew violations to rioting. He said the Minnesota State Police and numerous other law enforcement agencies are focused on protecting the Brooklyn Center Police Department.
According to Langer, some officers were hit with objects thrown by protestors, in turn, resulting in the deployments of chemical irritants and flashbangs to disperse the crowds.
Protesters took to the streets Sunday after the death of Wright, who died while trying to flee police during a traffic stop. The incident happened in Brooklyn Center, just 10 miles from where the attempted arrest of George Floyd took place. Police were reportedly trying to arrest Wright for an outstanding warrant.
Officials released body-cam footage of the shooting, which they are characterizing as an “accidental discharge.” They said the officer, identified by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension as Kim Porter, went for her taser but drew her gun by mistake.
Wow: Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon says it is his “belief that the officer had the intention to employ his taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet.”
He says Daunte Wright’s killing was caused by an “accidental discharge” pic.twitter.com/j60gBZLagr
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 12, 2021
Police said Porter, who has worked for the department for nearly 26 years and is president of the Brooklyn Center Police Officer’s Association, is now on administrative leave while an investigation is carried out.
The mayor of neighboring St. Paul said following the violence while authorities lament Wright’s accidental death protesters should not use the occasion to further traumatize communities by “exploit his death to wreak havoc and destruction on our neighborhoods.”
Protesters confronted police over the shooting death of Daunte Wright at a rally at the Brooklyn Center Police Department in Brooklyn Center, Minn., Monday, April 12, 20121. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)
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