Police Say Bricks Thrown In 3rd Night Of Brooklyn Center Unrest

BROOKLYN CENTER, MN — More than 60 people were arrested Tuesday night as civil unrest continued in Brooklyn Center over the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright. The majority of the activity took place in front of the city's police department headquarters.

Col. Matt Langer, head of the Minnesota State Patrol, said at a midnight news conference that arrests were made after demonstrators "started with the activities that lead toward a riot."

As night fell, the situation "devolved," Langer said, and protesters threw bricks, rocks, bottles, and other objects at officers working to enforce the city's curfew.

Fireworks and laser pointers were also used, according to Langer. "Dispersal orders were certainly adhered to by some, but not everybody."

Langer said arrests were then made for "riot and other criminal behaviors."

There were no reports of looting or businesses damaged in nearby Minneapolis, where a 10 p.m. curfew was being enforced.

Star Tribune reporters Andy Mannix and Kim Hyatt documented the police's use of tear gas and projectiles to control the crowds.

Hyatt recorded an "ambush" from authorities, calling the scene "pandemonium."

Resources from "Operation Safety Net" — a coordinated effort between the Minnesota National Guard, state patrol and local law enforcement to maintain peace after the verdict in the murder ongoing trial against Derek Chauvin — have been deployed in Brooklyn Center and throughout the Twin Cities metro since Monday night because of the shooting.

Police expect civil unrest to continue Wednesday night.

"We are prepared, and we will be back tomorrow. We will not tolerate the activity we have seen tonight and in the future," Langer said.

"We recognize the pain the community is feeling from what happened on Sunday," Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson said. "Real changes come when we're together. We all know we need to be better."

Calls to end use of rubber bullets, tear gas

The Brooklyn Center City Council on Monday approved a resolution banning crowd control tactics such as rubber bullets, tear gas, chokeholds, and "kettling" (a crowd-control technique in which police corral protesters in order to arrest them). The resolution applies only to Brooklyn Center police officers.

The American Civil Liberties Union Tuesday night called on all law enforcement agencies in the city "to follow this policy and remember honoring the Constitution is part of your job."

Brooklyn Center police officer resigns

Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter resigned Tuesday after spending 26 years with the department. Potter was identified by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension as the officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Wright during a traffic stop Sunday.

Police Chief Tim Gannon also resigned, Mayor Mike Elliot announced Tuesday.

Tony Gruenig, who has been with the department for 19 years, was appointed to replace Gannon as police chief.

"I don't have a plan," Gruenig said when asked about reforming his department. "I was appointed chief an hour ago." Read more here.

'He Was Our Angel': Family Of Daunte Wright On Police Shooting

Impassioned relatives tearfully remembered Wright during a Tuesday afternoon news conference with the family of George Floyd.

Attorney Ben Crump said it's "unfathomable" that a fatal police shooting of a Black man would occur during the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the Memorial Day 2020 death of Floyd. Read more here.