Brooklyn Center, Champlin Announce Curfews For Thursday Night
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- City officials in Brooklyn Center announced just after 8 p.m. Thursday that a curfew would go into effect at 10 p.m.
The curfew was announced near the end of an emergency city council meeting broadcast virtually. Shortly after the meeting, Mayor Mike Elliott tweeted the curfew would be in effect until 6 a.m. Friday.
Champlin also announced another curfew in effect Thursday evening from 9 p.m. through 5 a.m. Friday, with the customary exemptions made for those traveling to and from work, those seeking medical appointments, and those working with law enforcement or emergency services.
Champlin and a number of other cities, including Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, have been under curfews nightly since the start of the work week, following the shooting death of Daunte Wright by a now-former Brooklyn Center police officer.
On Monday, curfews were announced for Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka and Dakota counties, accounting for a total population in excess of 2.5 million. On Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz said there would be no mandatory curfews, but a number of cities announced them anyway, including Minneapolis, St. Paul, Brooklyn Center, Columbia Heights, Crystal, Maple Grove and Robbinsdale.
Law enforcement officers dispatched to Brooklyn Center are facing criticism for how they're responding to protests, but Gov. Tim Walz says sometimes those crowd-control tactics are needed to protect personnel and protestors from dangerous situations.
"I've seen many cases and you have to go here and other places, when these things are used without a clear goal of what they're trying to do," Walz said. "They're used indiscriminately, to just panic a crowd. I trust our safety officials to be very judicious and think about this."
No tear gas was used on protestors Wednesday night.
On Sunday, Wright was pulled over for expired tabs, according to then-Police Chief Tim Gannon, who tendered his resignation on Tuesday. After officers learned of a warrant for his arrest, they asked him to exit his vehicle. Body camera footage released Monday showed Wright try to get back into his car after an officer attempted to handcuff him.
Kim Potter, who also resigned Tuesday, pulled out her gun and pointed it at Wright while yelling "Taser," the video shows. She then shot Wright before saying, "Holy s**t, I just shot him." She was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter on Wednesday afternoon.