Washington: Minnesota police arrested 24 people for violating the curfew and inciting riots on the fourth night of protests against the fatal police shooting of Black man Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, US media report, citing authorities.
Wednesday night saw police officers again use tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowds. On Tuesday, there were 79 arrests made for rioting and other offenses. At the same time, law enforcement officials said that there was not any looting reported in the city for the second night in a row.
“The City of Brooklyn Center has extended the citywide curfew from 0300 hrs (GMT) Wednesday, April 14, 2021 to 1100 hrs (GMT) Thursday, April 15, 2021,” the city management tweeted.
According to the Minnesota-licensed KSTP-TV channel, citing State Patrol officer Col. Matt Langer, about 24 people were arrested. Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson, in turn, said that the majority of the arrested people were not from Brooklyn Center.
“The number one tool that we wanted to use tonight was patience and that’s what we exercised for a long period of time, even though we saw groups coming and fortifying and we saw umbrellas, plywood shields and makeshift barricades and blocks and bricks brought in,” Langer said, as quoted by the broadcaster.
According to Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington, about 500 people took part in the fourth night of protests, hours after former police officer Kim Potter who fatally shot 20-year-old Wright was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Operation Safety Net tweeted that the National Guard had activated over 3,000 servicemen in the city.
The CNN reported, citing acting City Manager Reggie Edwards, that there would be Brooklyn Center Community Crisis Team formed as a result of the unrest.
Wright was shot dead during a traffic stop on Sunday by the police officer, who claims to have accidentally drawn and discharged a handgun instead of a taser.
Potter and the Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon resigned on Tuesday. Brooklyn Center borders the city of Minneapolis where the in-custody death of another African American, George Floyd, sparked a nationwide campaign against racially motivated police brutality. Protests were sometimes marred with violence and looting and some locals are wary of a looming verdict in the trial of Floyd’s suspected killer, former police officer Derek Chauvin.
