Minneapolis shooting: More protests as police officer 'meant to use Taser'
Protesters took to the streets for a second night near Minneapolis after authorities confirmed a Black man was accidentally shot by a police officer who thought she was using her Taser.
Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as “an accidental discharge”.
Sunday's incident has sparked more unrest in the city where George Floyd was killed last year. Derek Chauvin, then a serving police officer, was charged with Mr Floyd's murder and is on trial now.
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Police used gas canisters and flash-bang grenades to disperse the hundreds of protesters who had gathered outside the Brooklyn Centre police station.
Other officers in riot gear had to force demonstrators away from the building.
“Move back!” the police shouted. “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” the crowd chanted back.
By late Monday, only a few dozen protesters remained.
Law enforcement agencies had stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area after Sunday night violence. The number of Minnesota National Guard troops was expected to more than double to over 1,000 by Monday night.
Authorities earlier Monday released body camera footage that showed the officer shouting at Wright as police tried to arrest him.
“I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” she can be heard saying. She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel.
After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away and the officer is heard saying, “Holy (expletive)! I shot him.”
Watch Robert Moore's video report after a police officer kills man after mistaking her gun for a Taser
Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office said in a statement.
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting “deeply tragic” and said the officer should be fired.
“We’re going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole,” he said.
Elliott later announced that the city council had voted to give his office “command authority” over the police department.
This “will streamline things and establish a chain of command and leadership”, he wrote on Twitter. He also said the city manager had been fired, and that the deputy city manager would take over his duties.
The reason behind the firing was not immediately clear, but the city manager controls the police department, according to the city’s charter.
The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting, identified the officer as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran who has been placed on administrative leave.