Fresh Protests Against U.S. Police Killings Spread

Date: 17 April 2021 - 21:31

News ID: ۸۹۲۸۳

MINNEAPOLIS (Dispatches) -- Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside a Minneapolis police station to protest the fatal shooting of African-American Daunte Wright at the hands of a police officer.
Chanting "Black lives matter!” and holding signs calling for justice for 20-year-old Wright, an estimated thousand people rallied outside the heavily guarded Brooklyn Center police station on Friday night.
It was the sixth consecutive night of protest in the city since Sunday, when a former while officer, Kim Potter, shot and killed Wright during a traffic stop. She has since been charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Brooklyn Center originally did not plan to impose a curfew in response to the protests, but as the rallies grew in size and intensity, the city issued a last-minute emergency proclamation imposing a curfew from 11 pm to 6 am.
Some agitated protesters shouted at law enforcement, launched fireworks, shook a security fence surrounding the police station and hurled bottles at officers. Roughly around 9:30 pm, the outer fence surrounding the building was breached.
Police tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas grenades, rubber bullets, flash-bang grenades and long lines of riot police. National Guard soldiers were deployed to the area, and a number of protesters were arrested.
At a news conference on Friday, Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott condemned the use of tear gas by local police officers on demonstrators, saying, "Gassing is not a human way of policing.”
On Monday, the Brooklyn Center City Council passed a measure to ban local officers from using chemicals such as tear gas, police lines and chokeholds to arrest protesters.
Police say Wright was pulled over for expired tags, but tried to take him into custody after discovering that he had an outstanding arrest warrant, which had been issued for his failure to appear in court in June.
Minneapolis was already on edge amid the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of African-American George Floyd last May.
In California, a protest that began peacefully ended with multiple fires set, several cars damaged and numerous windows shattered.
The protest against police brutality in Oakland began calmly Friday night, news outlets reported. A subsequent march drew hundreds of people with some setting fires and breaking windows.
Photos and videos posted online showed marchers with signs and flags. Many chanted the names of Wright, and Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old fatally shot by an officer in Chicago.
People in the crowd threw bottles and other objects at officers during the march, Oakland police said in a statement. One officer suffered an injury from being struck in the head.
The statement said protesters dragged barriers into the road to block and delay responding officers.
Authorities declared an unlawful assembly and instructed demonstrators to leave. Police said the protesters dispersed peacefully. There were no arrests, or citations issued.
Some businesses had boarded up their storefronts earlier Friday in anticipation of the unrest, according to news outlets.