‘Accidental discharge’ spurs protests in Minneapolis

As a trial for police officers charged in George Floyd's death continues in Minneapolis, an officer fatally shot and killed a Black man during a traffic stop. The police chief said the officer intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun.

April 13, 2021 - 9:27 AM

Police fire dispersants into a crowd of protestors outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Sunday evening. ] JEFF WHEELER ¥ [email protected] 20 year-old Minneapolis man was killed in officer-involved shooting Sunday afternoon, April 11, 2021on 63rd Ave. N. in Brooklyn Center. ORG XMIT: MIN2104111920080025

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — Police clashed with protesters for a second night in the Minneapolis suburb where an officer who authorities say apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described Sunday’s shooting death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as “an accidental discharge.” The shooting sparked protests and unrest in an area already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd’s death.

The scene outside the Shingle Creek Crossing Shopping Center, where looting took place late Sunday night after the police shooting death of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, seen Monday, April 12, 2021, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Here, Minnesota National Guard members are seen outside a Walmart that was looted. (David Joles/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS)

Hundreds of protesters faced off against police in Brooklyn Center after nightfall Monday, and hours after a dusk-to-dawn curfew was announced by the governor. When the protesters wouldn’t disperse, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some protesters away. A long line of police in riot gear, rhythmically pushing their clubs in front of them, began slowly forcing back the remaining crowds.

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