Curfew Announced For Parts Of Twin Cities Metro

TWIN CITIES, MN — A curfew will be enforced in part of the Twin Cities metro area from 7 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, state authorities announced. The curfew is effective in Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota and Anoka counties.

Washington County is not included in the curfew. Initially, Dakota County was not part of the curfew either but county officials have since said they've been notified that residents will be part of the regional overnight curfew.

The restriction is in response to civil unrest that broke out after a Brooklyn Center police officer fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright Sunday.

"As the world is watching during the trial of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd, the emotions and trauma are high in our state as I think would be understood," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said at a news conference Monday where the curfew was announced.

Walz expressed his personal sympathies to the family of Daunte Wright.

"I express my deepest sympathies to the family, knowing that there is absolutely nothing I can say that will make this better or take this back," Walz said. "But with an understanding that there are things that we can do."

One of those things, Walz said, is acknowledging that it doesn't have to be this way. Walz said there needs to be space for those demanding change but said harm to property or putting people at risk would not be tolerated.

"Minnesota is a place where we know that you can create space for grievances to be aired and First Amendment rights to be expressed and you can stop people from creating crimes or doing destruction to property and to people," Walz said.

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Minneapolis, St. Paul Declare States Of Emergency

Both Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter declared states of emergency in their cities.

"I'm not gonna stand here and tell you that it's OK when it's not," Frey said at Monday's news conference.

Carter said what happened Sunday — the death of a Black man after a traffic stop — should never happen once, twice, four times or as many times as Americans have experienced it.

"It should never happen that many times in a state that prides ourselves on humanism," Carter said.

Cities and suburbs throughout the region will see an increased presence of Minnesota National Guard troops and police. John Harrington, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Safety, said residents could expect to see hundreds of law enforcement officials Monday night.

A vigil originally scheduled for 7 p.m. in Brooklyn Center has since been moved to 6 p.m.

In Minneapolis, the curfew includes exemptions for:

• Members of the press
• Law enforcement
• Emergency responders
• Those traveling to and from work
• The following community patrol organizations:
  • A Mother’s Love
  • Center for Multicultural Mediation
  • Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI)
  • Corcoran Neighborhood Organization and T.O.U.C.H. Outreach
  • Change Equals Opportunity (C.E.O.)
  • Restoration Inc.
  • We Push for Peace.

Metro Transit said it would continue to operate for those exempt under the curfew and urged customers to not travel for other purposes.

In St. Paul, the curfew includes exemptions for "all law enforcement, fire and medical personnel, members of the news media, and other personnel authorized by the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Minnesota State Patrol, or Minnesota National Guard. Other exemptions include individuals traveling directly to and from work, seeking emergency care, fleeing danger, or experiencing homelessness."

Communities in all three counties subject to the curfew are letting residents know about the restrictions:

'Accidental discharge'

The Brooklyn Center police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Wright Sunday during a traffic stop did so in an "accidental discharge," Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said Monday.

In body camera footage from the shooting that was released Monday morning, three officers are seen struggling with Wright as he tries to get back into his car.

In the video, which readers should be warned is extremely graphic, one of the officers yells "taser!" "taser!" before yelling "I shot him!" The officer meant to draw and shoot her taser but instead fired a round into Wright, according to Gannon.

Read more: Officer Mistook Firearm For A Taser In Fatal MN Shooting: Chief

Minnesota Twins postpone series

The Minnesota Twins announced Monday that they would be postponing their series opener against the Red Sox. Read more here.