Yahoo Finance Shocking footage of cop 'accidentally' killing man, 20, during arrest
The fatal shooting of a Black man in Minneapolis by a senior female police officer appears to be accidental, local police say.
The man's death occurred in the same US city George Floyd was killed under the weight of police officer Derek Chauvin's knee pressed into his neck – a death that prompted mass protests globally as millions fought for an end to racial injustice last year.
On Sunday night (local time), protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis once more in the name of the latest victim, 20-year-old Daunte Wright. Hundreds clashed with riot police as anger spilled over in the city's CBD.
Brooklyn Center Police released bodycam footage of the shooting of Wright struggling with officers as he resists arrest and jumps back into the driver's seat of a white sedan.
“I'll Tase you! I'll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” the officer is heard shouting on her body cam footage.
She draws her weapon and fires a single shot from her handgun as the car speeds away.
“Holy s***! I shot him," the officer can be heard saying.
Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said he believed the shooting was "an accidental discharge" after reviewing the footage.
"It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser but instead shot Mr Wright with a single bullet," he told reporters.
"This appears to me, from what I've viewed and the officer's reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in a tragic death of Mr Wright."
The footage showed three officers around a stopped car, which authorities said was pulled over because it had expired registration tags.
When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a second officer tells Wright he's being arrested on a warrant. That's when the struggle begins, followed by the shooting.
Then the car travels several blocks before striking another vehicle.
Biden calls for calm after violent clashes
President Joe Biden urged calm on Monday, following a night of unrest in a city where many are already incensed as Chauvin's murder trial takes place.
“We do know that the anger pain and trauma amidst the black community is real,” Biden said from the Oval Office.
Shortly after the shooting, demonstrators began to gather, with some jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the Brooklyn Center Police Department, where rocks and other objects were thrown at officers, authorities said.
About 20 businesses were broken into at the city’s Shingle Creek shopping center, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said at a news conference.
Biden said violence and looting would not be tolerated.
A female passenger, confirmed by Wright's mother as his girlfriend, sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash.
Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.
In that case, a statement of probable cause said police got a call about a man waving a gun who was later identified as Wright.”
The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the fatal shooting.
Gannon failed to name the officer involved and would not say whether she would be dismissed following the investigation.
Mayor calls for 'justice'
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting “deeply tragic.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole," he said.
Wright's family hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented the Floyd family in its $27 million settlement with the city of Minneapolis.
“This level of lethal force was entirely preventable and inhumane,” Crump said in a statement.
“What will it take for law enforcement to stop killing people of colour?”
With AP
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