Rioters Smash Police Cars, Vandalize Police Station In Minneapolis While Looters Storm Businesses Following Police Shooting
By Ryan Saavedra - The Daily Wire
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Hundreds of apparent Black Lives Matter rioters smashed police cars, vandalized a police station, and looted businesses in Minneapolis after law enforcement shot and killed a man during a traffic stop after the man, who had an outstanding warrant, allegedly ran from police after they pulled him over.
Rocks and other objects were thrown at law enforcement officials in response to the shooting death of Daunte Wright, 20, while nearly two dozen businesses were broken into. A police officer was also transported to a hospital with injuries.
“Officers repeatedly ordered the crowd of about 500 to disperse as protesters chanted Wright’s name and climbed atop the police headquarters sign, by then covered in graffiti. Police used tear gas, flash bangs and rubber bullets on the crowd,” The Star Tribune reported. “National Guard troops arrived just before midnight as looters targeted the Brooklyn Center Walmart and nearby shopping mall. Several businesses around the Walmart were completely destroyed, including Foot Locker, T Mobile, and a New York men’s clothing store.”
The Brooklyn Center Police Department said in a statement that officers pulled over the suspect during a traffic stop on Sunday afternoon.
The statement said in part:
Officers determined that the driver of the vehicle had an outstanding warrant. At one point as officers were attempting to take the driver into custody, the driver re-entered the vehicle. One officer discharged their firearm, striking the driver. The vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle. Officers in pursuit and responding medical personnel attempted life saving measures, but the person died at the scene.
The suspect’s mother said that she was on the phone with him when the incident happened and she says that she heard police tell her son, “Daunte, don’t run.”
“I am closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center,” Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted after the situation turned chaotic. “Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wright’s family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement.”
“Our entire community is filled with grief following today’s officer-involved shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20 year old young man,” Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said on Twitter. “Our hearts are with his family, and with all those in our community impacted by this tragedy. While we await additional information from the BCA who is leading the investigation, we continue to ask that members of our community gathering do so peacefully, amid our calls for transparency and accountability.”
The fact-finding website Heavy.com linked to a Facebook account that they say belonged to the suspect. The account was filled with posts that included degrading remarks about women, joking about run from police, and joking about attacking police officers.
The Brooklyn Police Department said that its officers wear body cameras and they believe that the body cameras and dash cameras were activated during the incident.
Minnesota retailers looted following death of Daunte Wright
By Daniella Genovese | FOXBusiness
More than a dozen Minnesota retailers were looted Monday morning after the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot by police over the weekend.
Retailers in Brooklyn Center, Minn., a city of about 30,000 people on the northwest border of Minneapolis, were targeted after protests and riots started.
During a briefing Monday, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington addressed the civil unrest in the area, specifically the group of people that targeted the Shingle Creek mall.
"We have reports of approximately 20 businesses that were broken," Harrington said.
Officers stopped a motorist shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday for an unspecified traffic violation, police said in a statement. Authorities planned to provide an update later Monday.
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Katie Wright said her son called her as he was getting pulled over.
"All he did was have air fresheners in the car, and they told him to get out of the car," Wright said. During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying, "Daunte, don’t run" before the call ended. When she called back, her son’s girlfriend answered and said he had been shot.
After determining the driver had an outstanding warrant, police said they tried to arrest him. Then the driver reentered the vehicle, and an officer fired, striking him, police said. The vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle.
Wright’s family offered a different account, with Katie Wright saying her son was shot before getting back into the car.
A female passenger sustained nonlife-threatening injuries during the crash, authorities said. Katie Wright said that passenger was her son’s girlfriend.
According to reports, the Walmart in Brooklyn Center and several businesses in a nearby shopping mall were hit early Monday after violent demonstrations began.
Businesses near the Walmart, such as Foot Locker, T-Mobile and a men's clothing store called To New York, were also reportedly damaged as groups ransacked the insides, The Star Tribune reported.
Multiple social media posts also show that a Little Caesars and a GameStop were also targeted.
"I understand why people are frustrated, I do," the store manager of To New York, Andre Stevenson, told the Star Tribune. "But this isn’t going to solve anything, ultimately."
Representatives of To New York did not provide comment. GameStop has not responded to FOX Business' request for comment.
"The events of last night did result in some of our stores being damaged," a Walmart spokesperson told FOX Business in a statement. "Out of an abundance of caution, those stores will be closed until further notice. We’re continuing to monitor the situation and will determine when it’s appropriate for our locations to reopen."
The images and videos circulating on Twitter also show how the looting has since spread to parts of Minneapolis where protests and riots occurred following the death of Floyd in May 2020. Violence quickly spread in Minneapolis, hitting Family Dollar, CVS and GameStop along with Target, according to published reports and social media posts.
To tame the latest civil unrest, Harrington said law enforcement agencies were coordinating efforts and that the National Guard was activated.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted he was praying for Wright’s family "as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement."
Police didn’t immediately identify Wright or disclose his race, but some protesters who gathered near the scene waved flags and signs reading "Black Lives Matter." Others walked peacefully with their hands held up. On one street, written in multicolored chalk: "Justice for Daunte Wright."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Minnesota police, rioters clash after Daunte Wright shooting; dozens arrested
FOX News Staff
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Minnesota authorities arrested about 40 people after rioters and police clashed for a second night in Brooklyn Center, Minn., authorities said during a news conference early Tuesday.
Hundreds gathered outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department Monday and defied curfew. They demanded justice for Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man fatally shot by police during a traffic stop.
The crowd chanted "Daunte Wright!" Some shouted obscenities at officers.
Authorities fired tear gas, and flash-bang grenades into the crowd after warning them that they were in violation of curfew. Some rioters retaliated by throwing smoke canisters back toward law enforcement, while others launched fireworks at the police lines, according to reports.
"Move back!" the police chanted. "Hands up! Don't shoot!" the crowd chanted back.
Authorities said officers were shelled "pretty significantly," with objects thrown from the crowd. A few officers were hit by debris and suffered minor injuries during the unrest, police said.
Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said law enforcement officials made attempts to talk with protest leaders about figuring how to peacefully disperse the crowds, but "unfortunately, those efforts weren't successful ... so ... [we] stood and protected that building."
The roughly 40 arrests were made at the Brooklyn Center Police Department protest, Langer said. He added that people were arrested for violations including breaching curfew and rioting.
Looters also broke into several businesses at a strip mall near the police station, including a Dollar Tree store, according to reports.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz imposed a curfew from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. Tuesday for counties that included Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis, and St. Paul, the state capital.
Earlier, police put up a fence and concrete barricades around the building's perimeter. It was surrounded by local police, as well as, Minnesota National Guard and Minnesota State Patrol officers, the Star Tribune reported.
Amelia Huffman, the Minneapolis Police Department’s deputy chief for professional standards, said 13 people were also arrested in Minneapolis amid the demonstrations -- four for burglaries, two were suspects in shots-fired incidents, six were for curfew violations, and one was on an outstanding warrant.
Huffman added that five businesses were burglarized in Minneapolis during the unrest.
Police shot and killed Wright during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb on Sunday. The bodycam footage showed three police officers gathered near a stopped car that was pulled over an expired registration. Police attempted to arrest Wright for an outstanding warrant, leading to a struggle, followed by the fatal shooting.
Vice President Kamala Harris took to Twitter late Monday to comment on the shooting and said Wright's family needs "justice and healing" as the investigation plays out.
"Prayers are not enough," she tweeted. "Daunte Wright should still be with us. While an investigation is underway, our nation needs justice and healing, and Daunte’s family needs to know why their child is dead—they deserve answers."
Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said the officer who shot and killed Wright had intended to fire a Taser, not the handgun.
The officer was identified as Kimberly A. Potter, whose career with the Brooklyn Center Police Department has spanned more than 25 years, the Star Tribune reported. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Monday night that Potter is on standard administrative leave.
Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office said in a statement.
Follow below for more updates on the protests in Minnesota. Mobile users click here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Who is Kimberly Potter, the cop involved in the Daunte Wright deadly shooting?
By Bradford Betz | Fox News
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The Minnesota cop charged with shooting and killing a 20-year-old Black man during a traffic stop Sunday afternoon has been identified.
The officer is Kimberly A. Potter, whose career with the Brooklyn Center Police Department has spanned more than 25 years, the Star Tribune reported.
Potter, 48, is accused of fatally shooting Daunte Wright. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting as "an accidental discharge," and said she had meant to fire a Taser, not a handgun.
"I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!" the officer is heard shouting on her bodycam footage released at a news conference. 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."
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office said in a statement that Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest "and manner of death is homicide."
State records cited by The Tribune indicate Potter became a licensed police officer in Minnesota in 1995 at the age of 22.
She is reportedly married, with two adult sons, and lives with her husband – who is also a police officer – in another Minneapolis suburb.
It remains unclear whether Potter has retained a lawyer who could speak on her behalf. Gannon said earlier that she had been placed on administrative leave.
According to The Tribune, Potter was involved in another fatal shooting in August 2019. She was reportedly the first to arrive at a scene where Kobe Dimock Heisler died after rushing officers with a knife.
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Potter has also been a union president for Brooklyn Center police officers, and was a longtime member of the Law Enforcement Memorial Association, The Tribune reported. In 2017, she was reportedly among 11 officers who received a Chief’s Unit Certificate of Commendation for a death investigation the year prior.
Wright’s death has sparked protests in the metropolitan area, which has already been on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd’s death.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
